Among Friends
by Crystal Mizuka
Summary: **Discontinued** With the Shaman Fight over, life returned to normal. Hao survived and after making some unexpected friends, lost interest in his homicidal ways. Then a new evil appeared and nothing has been quite the same.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Shaman King and its characters belong to Hiroyuki Takei, not me.

Author's Notes: My information is scattered between the dub as seen on the Fox Box, the second season as seen in my DVD box set, the first three graphic novels, and a variety of spoiler sites. As such, things might not be 100 percent accurate, but for the purpose of entertainment it is close enough. I know not everyone likes original characters, and sometimes those same characters don't particularly like their creators, but without them I would have no basis for this fanfiction.

WARNING! There be spoilers ahead!

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The Key

"..." -Dialogue

_Thoughts_

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The Original Characters

Crystal Mizuka

Age 14

Birthday: January 8, 1986

Star Sign: Capricorn

Blood Type: O

Details: A relatively laidback and optimistic girl from California, she has always been more into playing games and making up stories than actually taking life seriously. Others simply didn't like her because she was different, but she didn't really hold it against them as she connected better with nature than with people. Those that did accept her generally viewed her as a leader simply because she took their scrambled ideas and made things happen. Unknown to her, she had a strong connection to the world of spirits from a young age. Crystal is a character of my own invention.

Taki

Age Unknown

Birthday Unknown

Details: The shape-shifting, hyper spirit of a waterfall in Crystal's hometown, she has a talent for getting into trouble with her energetic personality. As an Oversoul, Crystal generally uses wooden or plastic swords and doesn't really favor real weapons. Once in Oversoul, Taki connects with Crystal's imagination to cause some really unusual, totally random attacks. This character is based entirely on my friend and fellow authoress, Cat. Perhaps you've seen Crystal in her Inuyasha Sleepover Fanfic.

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Prologue One: What Doesn't Burn

Summer 1996...

In a place that seemed almost untouched by humans there was a waterfall. The trails that led the way were natural and the only addition that had been made by people was a bridge to cross the ravine created by the local creek. However, this bridge did nothing to get anyone to the waterfall. It was not on the marked trail and as such it was not a very well known spot to hike to. Even so, there were at least a few people that knew the way.

One girl who had no problem venturing into the woods alone went there often enough. It had carved a bowl-shaped area of stones at its base complete with what almost seemed to be a circular staircase down the right hand side. There was a strangely peaceful quality about the area surrounding the waterfall and Crystal felt relaxed in its presence. This was the kind of place that she could go to wash away her troubles and to get away from other people in general.

At least, that's how it had been until that fateful day when the mysterious boy appeared and changed everything. He certainly wasn't one of the local kids, because she would have seen him at school. He appeared to be roughly her age, perhaps a little older. The way he was dressed wasn't exactly normal, but Crystal wasn't really one to judge other people's fashions. The thing that actually hit her the hardest was that she was certain she could feel his anger at the sight of someone else actually being there.

The boy was Asakura Hao and he really wasn't thrilled to see someone who clearly wasn't a Shaman in his presence. That being the case, he was actually a little surprised when she actually seemed to react to his emotions by backing away. It wasn't out of fear either, but more out of respecting his desire for personal space. Even so, she was human and having seen him should be destroyed before given the chance to inform anyone else of his being there. However, he was still curious.

"Why aren't you afraid of me?"

A puzzled look played across Crystal's face, "Should I be? I can understand you wanting to be by yourself and being angry that I kind of spoiled that for you, but you really don't strike me as a bad person."

Hao's curiosity shifted into mild interest, "... interesting, but unfortunately you're wrong." He raised his arms to the sky, "Spirit of Fire!"

Crystal tensed slightly as the air around her heated up and her brain started sending her a rush of danger signals. Whoever had named that creature certainly knew what they were talking about. She was relatively certain that if that thing touched her, she wouldn't be standing there afterward. Another part of her was confident that she would be alright and so she should her ground.

"I don't believe you're actually going to attack me."

Hao was a little confused when the girl didn't even attempted to run even in the presence of the Spirit of Fire. He hesitated before finally reaching the conclusion that this could prove to be more than just a minor annoyance if he didn't get rid of this girl immediately. The Spirit of Fire responded to his decision by hurling a super-heated fireball down at the girl.

Crystal was untouched by the flames as what appeared to be a veil of water from the waterfall came up around her. Hao's earlier anger returned when his target didn't simply disappear, "Why don't you burn?!"

Crystal blinked, obviously confused herself by what had just happened. In response, the water that had risen from the waterfall took on the shape of a girl roughly Crystal's age although clearly not human as she had furry, cat-like ears. This girl spoke in an amused tone, "When in this dimension has water ever burned?"

Hao's anger and annoyance faded. He wasn't sure whether to be surprised, confused, or annoyed and settled for a combination of the three mixed with some relief. This place had a calming effect on people and even Hao, who had been ready to vaporize another human being seconds earlier, was able to rationalize the situation enough to call off the Spirit of Fire.

Crystal relaxed and looked to the other girl with mild confusion of her own, "This may seem kind of weird, but I get the feeling I know you... that I've known you for a long time."

"You can call me Taki," replied the girl. She pointed to the waterfall and grinned, "You've come to this place a lot, but all you knew of me was the waterfall. I didn't like the idea of you being vaporized by that guy, so I decided to help you out."

Crystal nodded thoughtfully, "I've been brought here since I was born and I've come on my own since I've been able to make the hike."

_So, that means that Taki is the spirit of the waterfall and that this girl I was about to fry can actually see spirits, but she's certainly not a Shaman... and... _Hao's thoughts trailed off as something else became alarmingly clear to him.

"Why don't I hear her thoughts in my head?"

Crystal blinked in confusion, "So, you can summon a giant made of fire and you can read people's minds? Sounds like you must lead a pretty interesting life."

"... just who are you?" asked Hao.

Crystal extended a hand as she introduced herself, "The name is Crystal. Let's be friends."

Hao looked to the hand extended to him, shrugged and shook it, "Just like that? Even after I tried to kill you?"

"Well, I'm sure you had your reasons and like I said before, you really don't strike me as a bad person," replied Crystal with a smile. "So, is there a name to go along with those awesome powers or what?"

"You can call me Hao."

Prologue Two: Mastering the Elements

It had been several months since their first meeting. Summer had ended and Crystal found herself back in school as though nothing had changed, but that was far from the truth. There were days when she knew she just had to return to the waterfall because he was there. Over the months they had developed a system of Hao teaching Crystal how to be a Shaman and Crystal telling Hao of the adventures she imagined herself having. Since school was back in session, these adventures included the daily games with her friends during the breaks at school.

This was one such day when Crystal had found herself drawn to the waterfall. She had come to realize that a number of strange things that she had been involved with in the past were related to the world of spirits, although she herself had not been aware of the fact. Back then she just called it a "strange power" that she could tap into when she was in some kind of trouble with things that apparently not everyone could see, but that she knew were a threat to herself and her friends. Under Hao's instruction she had learned that she could control this power and tap into it at will, and so when it came to utilizing the elements she just needed to know how it was done and then she could do it.

"Today I decided the others were getting too comfortable with me being the main character, so I let the enemy strike me down with a poison dart and sent them on their own quest to find the antidote," Crystal explained as she practiced summoning fire from the air around her.

Hao was observing from the ledge at the top of the waterfall. For someone who hadn't been a Shaman when they first met, Crystal had proven to be a very interesting subject. She also had some rather remarkable stories to tell, "Do you enjoy playing the role of the tragic heroine?"

Crystal shrugged after calling off the flames that had risen around her, "Not really, but it helps if they are forced to create the story for themselves sometimes. I don't want to get them believing that I'm always supposed to be in charge."

"Well, it's no wonder that they like to follow your stories so much," noted Taki as she appeared in her visible form. "It always sounds like the lot of you have so much fun."

Crystal sighed, "We do have fun... well at least those of us who are involved do, but we're pretty few in number when you consider the number of kids at my school... and the other kids mostly treat us like we've all gone crazy. It's annoying when other kids are telling you to grow up more often than your own parents."

"You two would make a very interesting Shaman and spirit team," Hao spoke as he defied the downward pull of gravity by seemingly floating to the base of the waterfall at which point he casually stood on the surface of the water.

A look of surprise crossed over Taki's face and was immediately followed by a look of interest, "Are you suggesting that I leave this place with Crystal and go out into the world as her spirit partner?"

"That's exactly what I was thinking," replied Hao.

Crystal shrugged, "It sounds like a pretty strong combination, but I still haven't learned how to combine my power with spirits."

"Normally low level Shamans start with 'Hyoi Gattai' or bringing a spirit within themselves and using the spirit's power that way, but I think you can handle the next level up and go right into using an Oversoul," said Hao. "Come back tomorrow with something you feel comfortable using as a weapon."

Crystal was a little confused, but she agreed to return anyway.

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The next day Crystal returned with a plastic sword in hand. From there she would take her first real steps into the world of Shamans.

Prologue Three: The Shaman Fight

Summer 1998...

Crystal sat on the ledge at the top of the waterfall as Hao prepared to leave by means of the Spirit of Fire. Unlike past visits, this one had hardly been for the purpose of fun and games. Hao had come to tell her not to participate in the Shaman Fight, because it really wasn't right for her to just up and leave when it would cause her friends and family to worry.

_Alright, so I'm not going to get involved. Hopefully we will get to meet again once the Shaman Fight is over with. _Crystal watched as the Spirit of Fire vanished into the sky. It was time that she went home herself, so then she left.

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March 2000...

The Shaman Fight had ended with a bang. Actually, it was more like a series of sparkling lights, blinding flashes and an entire section of the landscape vanishing into thin air. In any event, the finale of the Shaman Fight was something that spectators couldn't rightly explain and so no one really tried. Everything that had happened was because of the will of the Great Spirit, which strangely enough had also seemingly vanished off the face of the earth.

What had become of the infamous Hao Asakura? It certainly looked like Yoh and Amidamaru had finished him and the Spirit of Fire off for good. In fact, if one had watched closely it really did look like Hao along with his giant spirit had been cut in half. The fact that he and the Spirit of Fire vanished certainly proves that his Oversoul was broken. Generally speaking however, when the main villain vanishes into thin air without a trace after the final battle they are still very much alive. Considering the fact that Yoh wouldn't kill anyone, let alone his twin brother, Hao probably had survived even though he was obviously defeated. This is where our story really begins.

This next part rests on one very big assumption. Based on the directions to the Patch Village, I have reached the conclusion that it must have been located in California. There is indeed a red river, the lava flows that make up Red Rock Canyon beyond which is a desert that certainly looks like it is made up of black sand in the dark of night. The only thing I can't account for is the blue cave, which appeared out of nowhere to begin with and disappeared in much the same way.

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"Taki, when I said we were going to comb the desert to figure out where Hao disappeared to I didn't mean for you to Oversoul as a giant comb!" Crystal sweatdropped at her spirit companion's literal interpretation of what she had originally intended to be a simple mission.

Taki chuckled in amusement, "But you said we were going to comb the desert... what else would you want me to turn into?"

Crystal smirked dangerously, "I'll bet you know his scent, so you could sniff him out of this sand with ease."

"I have no intention of transforming into a giant nose," Taki challenged.

Crystal shrugged, "How about a blood hound then? Just hurry it up so we can get him out of here."

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"Asakura Yoh... I deny your existence!"

Hao snapped awake, but from the sounds of it he might have still been dreaming. A few seconds later he was out again. Crystal had set him up on the dry sand bank across from the base of the waterfall and had resolved to stay until he regained consciousness at least.

"It sounds like he was hit pretty hard," said Takikoneko having taken on the form of an adorable little kitten, even if she did have sharp gleaming fangs that could probably cause an incredible amount of pain if she happened to bite you.

Crystal let out a sigh, "Yeah. Still, he ought to be fine after he's had a decent rest. Since no one should be home right now anyway, I'm going to go acquire some snacks... he'll probably be hungry when he actually wakes up."

"Good idea. I'll just stay here and keep an eye on things," replied Takikoneko.

Prologue Four: In Conclusion, It Ain't Over Yet

April 2000...

"So, while you regroup with what is left of your followers, you want me to go to Tokyo and deal with the one person who can stop you from regaining the power of the Great Spirit... Asakura Yoh," Crystal was mostly going over the plan again for herself. "If as you say he really is your twin brother, that makes knowing what to look for simple enough."

Hao nodded confirmation, "You catch on fast as always."

"Well then, I guess I better get a move on," Crystal drew the plastic sword from its plastic scabbard over her right shoulder.

"And there's one more thing before you leave," Hao spoke again. "Put out your hand." Crystal blinked, momentarily puzzled, but then did as she was instructed with her free hand. Hao tied a bracelet of red with a yellow star pattern around her wrist, "I would prefer that you keep yourself alive."

Crystal nodded before stepping back and preparing for her departure. Taki appeared in Crystal's ready hand and was quickly transferred to the waiting sword, "Oversoul time, Giant Takiryuu!" Taki's visible form was that of a large blue and gold dragon once her power had been filtered into the sword in Crystal's hand, with Crystal standing on one of the dragon's shoulders. Takiryuu spread her wings and took to the sky, somehow knowing exactly what way to go in order to reach Tokyo.

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All seemed peaceful within the confines of the Funbari Onsen. The sound of Yoh's Oracle Bell going off once again went unnoticed.

To Be Continued...

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A Word From the Characters

Yoh: This whole prologue makes me sound like the bad guy...

Horohoro: How can a prologue be eight pages?

Crystal: Because Rachel was feeling inspired and writes a lot when she has ideas... and I do not approve of my being used as a support villain!

Taki: I wanna cookie! :D (materializes cookie for self)

Horohoro: How'd she do that?

Taki: Cause I'm just like that.

Yoh: This point of view is only being used for the prologue, right?

Crystal: That seems to be the case. In any event, the lunatic behind this feels more compelled to update when she actually gets reviews, the sillier the better.


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Shaman King and its characters belong to Hiroyuki Takei, not me.

Author's Notes: If you want to see my long, drawn out explanation of things, take a look at the Chapter 1 Prologue. I don't feel like repeating myself and I'm sure you don't want to read it again if you already have.

WARNING! There be spoilers ahead!

* * *

In Response to Reviews

To Cat Silver: Darn it, now I've got Anna lurking around to make sure I write the next chapter of the Fanfic!

Horohoro: I want a cookie... (pouts)

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Chapter One, Part One: Breakfast

Yoh sat nervously at the table, much like he had the previous day except that this time around it wasn't because he had gotten up late and attempted to cover it up by serving leftovers from the day before. It wasn't because of Ren's surprise visit during dinner the night before either, although that was about when this feeling had come over him. Manta had gone home and Yoh assumed that his friend was safe because there hadn't been any bad feelings during the course of the night. This was about something much more perplexing: what had inspired Anna to start cooking?

Ren sat at the table and seemed to be amused by Yoh's discomfort. Somehow this only managed to make Yoh even more uncomfortable. As such, Yoh started fidgeting around with his chopsticks to distract himself.

"Breakfast's almost ready," Anna's voice filtered through the kitchen doorway. Yoh's hand tensed and his chopsticks snapped. Ren burst into a fit of laughter.

"It isn't funny," Yoh protested.

"I'm afraid I must disagree," countered Ren. "Watching you this morning is incredibly entertaining."

This was one battle that Yoh knew he wasn't going to win. He sighed, "Ren, you've got to admit that it's a little surprising... yesterday Anna was clearly mad at me because I woke up too late to make a proper breakfast and then I come home to find her making dinner."

"She probably doesn't want to scare away potential customers with your inability to cook anything edible," noted Ren.

Yoh blinked, "You think this could be part of her Funbari Onsen plan?"

"Probably," Ren shrugged. "You ought to be happy that you have a fiancé who knows her away around the kitchen."

At this point Anna came in and set out breakfast. Somehow Yoh didn't feel nervous anymore, but he didn't have time to admit that Ren was probably right. Being nervous wouldn't earn him any mercy points with Anna anyway, so Yoh settled for something that could.

"It looks great Anna."

"Don't think that sucking up is going to make your chores any easier," replied Anna.

Yoh sweatdropped, "... of course not."

Chapter One, Part Two: An Abnormal Afternoon

"I was a little surprised when I found out that Anna made dinner last night," said Manta as he and Yoh took their usual route toward Funbari Hill Cemetery.

Yoh grinned, "If you think that was surprising... she made breakfast today too."

"Seriously?" asked Manta.

Yoh nodded confirmation, "Ren said that I should be happy that I have a fiancé that knows her way around the kitchen. Somehow, I'm just glad I don't have to re-cook every meal fifteen times."

Yoh and Manta both laughed.

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It is rather difficult to consider a particular aspect of a cemetery strange. This afternoon however, there was certainly something different about the Funbari Hill Cemetery. It was quiet, because the usual assortment of ghosts didn't come out until the middle of the night, but there was someone else there. A girl dressed in blue jeans and a silver tank top appeared to be sleeping soundly up in the tree in the middle of the cemetery.

"It would appear that we're not the only ones here today," said Yoh stating the obvious.

Manta nodded, "That's certainly strange. Normally we're the only people that come here at this hour."

"I don't think it's a spirit," said Yoh curiously. "She must be human, but even I couldn't sleep this late into the day."

At the base of the tree a cute little kitten with gleaming fangs hissed at the intruders. Manta took a step back and hid bravely behind Yoh's leg. Yoh observed the threatening feline with mild interest and smiled, "How cute."

Takikoneko blinked in surprise and reverted to her humanoid form with the fuzzy cat-like ears, "You can see me then?"

"A shape-shifting spirit?" Manta stepped out into the open for a closer look.

Taki called up to Crystal, "I think we have finally found someone who can help us!"

"Actually, we're the ones that found you," corrected Manta.

"Whatever. You don't have to be so literal," replied Taki.

Crystal stretched and rolled as though she was getting out of bed. This resulted in her falling out of the tree. She quickly remembered herself and where she was, allowing herself time to re-position her fall so that she landed lightly on her feet when she hit the ground. Yoh applauded while Manta sweatdropped and laughed nervously.

"So, these guys are able to see you then?" Crystal still looked like she was half asleep.

Taki nodded, "I think I gave the little guy a scare."

"If it's for your own amusement, I know you try to scare people," replied Crystal indifferently.

Yoh decided to step in and change the subject, "If you're here for the Shaman Fight in Tokyo, I'm sorry to be the one to tell you it's over."

"Actually I'm here to find someone, but I came in early this morning and didn't have the energy to look for a hotel, so I found this place and I must say it's pretty comfortable in that tree," Crystal explained.

Taki took a closer look at Yoh and began making frantic noises and gestures, attempting to get Crystal to talk to her in private. Crystal waved her off passively, "Not right now."

"Maybe we can help you find who you're looking for," Yoh volunteered. "But first... you said you needed a place to stay, right?"

Crystal nodded, "While I'm here, I guess that would make sense."

"Lucky for you I happen to live in a hotel," said Yoh. "I'm sure you don't mind if there happen to be ghosts inside."

Manta shook his head, "Do you think Anna is going to approve of this?"

Yoh shrugged, "She wants to reopen the hotel as the Funbari Onsen, so she's going to have to deal with the possibility of customers eventually. It's more fun to bring in friends though."

"This is really working out better than I thought it would," commented Crystal. Taki made several more frantic noises and gestures before following after the three humans as they left the cemetery.

Chapter One, Part Three: Naivety Knows No Bounds

"Who are you looking for anyway?" asked Manta as the newly formed group entered the house/hotel that was the Funbari Onsen.

Crystal thought carefully. She didn't really want to get these nice people involved if she didn't have to. Taki sighed in exasperation at how Crystal seemed to be completely oblivious to the fact that this Yoh did look a lot like Hao and that he was most likely the very same person they were supposed to be looking for.

Crystal stretched idly, "I don't really know how to put this without causing trouble, but it seems like a friend of mine is convinced he's having problems with a doppelganger. It's kind of silly I guess, but I'm supposed to be looking for someone that looks like my friend, but isn't."

"Yoh, get away from them now! They work for Hao!" Ren had noticed the bracelet and had already drawn his Kwan Dao.

Crystal blinked, "Oh, so you guys know about Hao... that makes things easier. Then maybe you can tell me where I can find Asakura Yoh."

Taki facevaulted, "You've got to be kidding me... you mean you haven't figured out that that guy who brought us here IS Asakura Yoh?"

"Seriously?" Crystal looked Yoh over one more time and her brain finally seemed to make the connection. "I guess it must be the headphones, because I honestly couldn't tell."

A vein throbbed on Ren's forehead, "Why don't you quit fooling around with us and just get on with the attack?!"

"That wasn't really what I was going for," Crystal laughed nervously.

Yoh and Manta had moved away from that part of the room. Despite the bracelet, there really didn't seem to be any reason to fear Crystal, but it was always a good idea to stay out of Ren's way when he got like this. Considering Ren had already used his Oversoul and his Kwan Dao was now glowing, this was probably for the best. Taki observed this fact and sighed, "It doesn't look like we have any choice in the matter, Crystal."

"Well in that case," a goofy grin appeared on Crystal's face as Taki prepared to work with her Oversoul. Crystal drew the plastic sword from its plastic sheath on her belt and combined Taki's power with her own, "Oversoul! Rabid Bunny Attack!" The form emanating from Crystal's weapon materialized itself in the form of a cute little pink bunny.

Ren sweatdropped, "If that's the best you can do, I don't know why Hao even bothered sending you." He stepped within striking range and prepared to use his Vorpal Dance to be rid of this threat as quickly as possible.

"Just wait, the best part is about to start," Crystal smirked knowingly. The cute little pink bunny opened its mouth to reveal dozens of gleaming pointed teeth. Crystal snapped her fingers as a signal to begin the attack. The teeth seemed to extend into some kind of flexible needles and came at Ren from all directions. When the dust cleared, Ren was unconscious and Taki was standing beside Crystal again.

A look of horror appeared on Yoh's face. Manta spoke what he and Yoh were both thinking, "... Ren was beaten with a single attack..."

"He should regain consciousness in about ten minutes," supplied Crystal restoring her plastic sword to its plastic sheath. "That was just my immobilization technique for dealing with those too stubborn to listen to words."

Yoh blinked in confusion, "You mean, Hao didn't send you here to kill me?"

Crystal raised her hand to her forehead and sighed, "I'm being totally honest when I say this, but I don't work for Hao. I know a little about the Shaman Fight and what happened, but that really had nothing to do with me. Hao asked me to go to Tokyo to deal with you, and I agreed not because I'm one of his loyal followers, but because I'm trying to be a good friend, even if his intentions aren't necessarily good."

Anna's voice came from the doorway behind Crystal, "It sounds like this might be a long story. Why don't you stick around and explain yourself?"

Chapter One, Part Four: Questioning History

"Amazing... Hao tried to kill you and you still offered to be friends," Yoh was somewhere between impressed, surprised and confused.

Ren didn't say anything, but he looked pretty angry. This was probably because he was aware that by all accounts a cute little pink bunny had defeated him. Even if that cute little bunny had extendable, flexible, pointed teeth that didn't make it any less of a cute little pink bunny. Ren let out an annoyed sigh and headed outside to chill out before he broke something.

"Maybe I overdid it with that attack," Crystal knew she was responsible, so she felt bad about it even though from her perspective it had been in self- defense. After having nearly been roasted alive by the Spirit of Fire, she knew that not everyone would refrain from violence just because she asked them to.

"More like under did it," said Manta. "I think Ren feels insulted about having been beaten by something he considered weak more than he's actually upset about being defeated."

"Are you sure it isn't because he was defeated by a girl?" asked Taki.

Yoh nodded, "Considering Anna and his sister, I doubt he has the mind to consider girls weak... I think he's more upset about having been defeated by a cute little pink bunny."

Taki sweatdropped, "I was light red, not pink."

"I can see why Hao would have been interested in Crystal," said Anna. "She seemed to be an ordinary human, but when he went to attack her with the Spirit of Fire she was saved by another spirit and at the same time he was unable to read her thoughts. Such an unpredictable life form would be very interesting to someone who generally knows everything about their surroundings."

Yoh nodded, "A surprise factor to add confusion and spark curiosity would certainly be something unexpected."

"I'm still here, you know," Crystal sweatdropped.

Anna spoke seriously, "At any rate... you said that Hao wanted you to come to Tokyo to deal with Yoh, but you don't think he intended for you to fight."

Crystal nodded, "I know it seems kind of weird, but the way he talked about the fact that he thinks Yoh is the only person that can stop him from re- attaining the power of the Great Spirit... it made me think that maybe that's what Hao really wants. Considering he's now been defeated in three consecutive Shaman Fights even though he seems to have this unmatched power seems to suggest that deep down he really wants there to be someone who can stop him from achieving his goal. At any rate, that's why I think he actually sent me here to warn the lot of you... so that you know that he's still around and intending to cause trouble."

Yoh had a sudden sinking feeling as Anna reached her conclusion based on the information, "Well then, it sounds like there is still a use for my special training program after all."

Chapter One, Part Five: Departure

"So, you really have to leave? You could stay here and help us, you know?" Yoh spoke while enduring his Electric Chair training.

Crystal had already made the preparations for her return trip, "I already did by warning you about Hao's intentions... don't take this the wrong way, but I can't fight Hao... I won't fight against my friends. That means that I won't fight you either."

"What do you plan to do then?" Ren had more or less recovered after the week that had flown by after the initial shock from the Rabid Bunny Attack. As such, he was now on more positive terms with Crystal and Taki.

Crystal shrugged, "I guess I'll just return to the neutral headquarters that is my house and just return to my ordinary life."

"Well, don't hesitate to come back for a visit," said Yoh. "There are plenty of others that drop by here from time to time that you ought to meet."

"I'll certainly keep that in mind," agreed Crystal. That would have to be after she came up with a story to tell her friends and family about why she had gone missing for a week. The old getting lost in the woods story really wouldn't cover it considering she knew those woods like the back of her hand, having grown up there her whole life. She could always tell the truth, but there weren't many that would actually believe her back home.

Taki sighed, "You don't really want to go back to that life, do you?"

"Not really, but I have to... I've worried them enough back home as it is," replied Crystal.

Yoh blinked, "You mean they don't know about your powers?"

"Well, that is to say the ones who can't see spirits certainly don't," replied Crystal. Taki took on her cat form and followed after as Crystal started on her way. Then both of them were gone.

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"Do you really think it was a good idea to let her leave just like that?" asked Ren. At this point he along with Yoh and Manta was in the bath/hot spring.

Yoh shrugged, "I don't think she's an enemy if that's what you mean."

"Actually, I was thinking about the fact that Hao might not exactly be happy about the information she provided us with when she gets back," replied Ren.

Yoh looked confused for a second and then smiled, "I know things will turn out alright. Besides, if she was telling the truth... he shouldn't be able to hurt her anyway."

"That carefree attitude again," Ren shook his head. "It really does suit you."

"Some things never change," Manta sweatdropped.

To Be Continued...

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A Word From the Characters

Ren: (twitches) I refuse to accept that I was beaten by a cute little pink bunny!

Taki: Not pink, light red.

Horohoro: I still want a cookie...

Taki: (materializes a cookie for Horo-chan)

Horohoro: Yay!

Yoh: It's nice to know that I'm still the good guy in this story.

Hao: Yoh, you really wouldn't last as a villain even if you wanted to.

Crystal: Once again, the insane authoress is more inspired to update when she receives reviews, the sillier the better. Anna can't always be hanging around to make sure she writes.


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Shaman King and its characters belong to Hiroyuki Takei, not me.

Author's Notes: If you want to see my long, drawn out explanation of things, take a look at the Chapter 1 Prologue. I don't feel like repeating myself and I'm sure you don't want to read it again if you already have.

WARNING! There be spoilers ahead!

* * *

In Response to Reviews

To THE-PIT-MONSTER: Welcome and thanks for reading my first SK fanfic.

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To Black Dragon: If you really want to know what's going to happen, well you'll just have to wait like the rest of the readers for it to happen. If you want Taki to make you a cookie, ask her yourself.

Ren: (growl) It wasn't funny!

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The Original Characters

Tyriel

Age 12

Birthday: August 13, 1987

Star Sign: Leo 

Blood Type: AB

Details: A childhood friend of Crystal's who lives by the belief that as long as he doesn't get caught, he can get away with anything. He was one of the children who played with Crystal in Elementary School and one of the few that rejoined her in Middle School. Like Crystal, he was also unaware of his connection to the world of spirits until the fateful night when Crystal left for Tokyo. [Tyriel is a character based on a real friend of mine.]

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Chapter Two, Part One: The Plot Thickens

Just after Crystal left for Tokyo...

Hao stood quietly and watched Takiryuu disappear into the darkness of the night sky. Even after four years he couldn't figure out what it was that made the girl called Crystal support him without question. She had seemed like a perfectly ordinary human being up until the point that Taki, the spirit of the waterfall that had become their meeting place, saved her from the Spirit of Fire.

_I wonder what has become of the Spirit of Fire. I haven't even tried to summon it since I lost the Shaman Fight. _It was a fact that left him with a sense of bitterness and a sense of relief. Somehow Yoh had succeeded in accomplishing the impossible by defeating him, and moreover had left him alive to reflect on it. The key to Yoh's mysterious power still eluded Hao and that was probably the thing that bothered him the most. Then again, the girl he had sent to challenge Yoh was almost as much of a mystery.

There was a faint rustling in the trees nearby as a shadowed figure stepped out from behind them and onto the rocks that made up the upper level of the waterfall. Disregarding that he was a considerable distance from the ground bellow, this figure who was clearly a boy perched himself on the end of the ledge. The boy looked directly at Hao without any further movement.

Hao had turned around to trace the source of the rustling and was puzzled by the boy he saw staring at him from the top of the waterfall. He had always assumed that Crystal was not the only person in the area that new about the location of this particular waterfall, but the fact that this boy looked to be about two or three years younger than himself and that he was out and about at this time of night was strange. It also occurred to him that it seemed as though the boy had not appeared to be behind those trees only minutes earlier, but was it possible for someone to actually materialize out of thin air?

_I don't get it. Is this guy really the reason why Crystal leaves the playground early on certain days? I thought she said she didn't have any interest in guys._ Hao could hear the thoughts in his head while the boy continued to observe him quietly. Still the boy said nothing and so Hao remained silent, returning the boy's stare. _I think he's a little older than Crystal, but I don't get the way he's dressed. Then again, I didn't expect to see Crystal fly off to Tokyo on a dragon either._

This last thought was all it took to get beyond Hao's silence. Hao matched the boy stare for stare and asked quietly so as not to disturb any of the animals that might have been trying to sleep, "You were able to see the dragon?"

The boy nodded and spoke in an equally quiet voice, "Of course I saw it. That thing was huge."

Hao was slightly puzzled by the way the boy didn't appear to be concerned about the dragon. He assumed that the boy hadn't figured out that he was able to read his thoughts and that the question about the dragon was simply in regard to the fact that they had both been there to see it. Hao decided to ask the other question that had been bothering him since the boy had emerged from the trees.

"What are you doing here?"

The boy spoke in an almost guilty tone except that it carried a trace of amusement with it, "Actually, I was spying on Crystal."

This made things a little easier. This boy knew Crystal and based on the way he had answered it seemed as though he believed she would be angry with him if she found out that he was spying. Hao decided to go on with his interrogation of the boy as it was starting to become more interesting.

"Why were you here spying on Crystal?"

The boy shrugged, "I know she disappears here a lot and I got curious. So, I decided to follow her to find out why."

This brought up the question of how the boy had known that Crystal would be here at this time on this particular night. Fortunately, the boy's thoughts answered that question beautifully. _Crystal is going to kill me if she finds out that I followed her to her house and to the waterfall without her knowing it. She hates it when I appear out of nowhere at school, but I don't want to know how she'd react if she found out I was using that same ability to spy on her._

Hao absorbed that information with his usual smile back on his face. It sounded like this boy might be useful. Hao spoke a little more loudly than before, "I have a proposition for you. What do you think of that?"

The boy seemed to ponder the thought for a brief moment before asking, "What's in it for me?"

"For one thing, you will be able to do things like your friend with the dragon," replied Hao.

The boy looked interested, "I'm starting to like this idea already. I was wondering how she was able to do that."

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Hao spent the better part of the next two hours explaining to the boy he came to know as Tyriel what it meant to be a Shaman. Once the explanation was over the boy seemed to spend the next five minutes digesting the information.

"So, basically you want me to join you in traveling around to find the Great Spirit so that you can have it destroy the rest of humanity except for those Shamans you have decided are useful and it doesn't matter to you if I kill anyone?" Tyriel spoke as though this was the best offer he had ever been given.

Hao nodded thoughtfully, "First you will need to find yourself a Spirit partner and learn how to use an Oversoul, but after that I think you might prove to be a valuable asset."

Tyriel took off without another word. Hao would wait at the waterfall until Crystal came back from Tokyo, then he also planned to leave.

Chapter Two, Part Two: Reunion at the Funbari Onsen

A week after Crystal returned from Tokyo...

For one reason or another the rest of Yoh's friends had learned that Hao was still very much alive. Somehow they had all reached the conclusion that the easiest course of action would be to regroup at the Funbari Onsen to go over the situation. Considering they were Yoh's friends and not customers at the Inn, and that they were taking up a considerable number of rooms without Anna getting paid, there was a very high level of tension in the air.

As it was, the boys had taken refuge in the hotspring/bath after yet another day of being Anna's loyal subjects. That is to say that they all made a point of staying out of Anna's way as much as possible unless she told them to do something. Anna had taken in the all the freeloaders rather well considering no one had been thrown into a wall yet. Still, it was better not to press your luck around Anna if you could help it.

"So, what exactly are we going to do about Hao if he really is back?" Horohoro asked the assembled Shamans plus Manta.

Yoh shrugged and looked up at the sky, "There really isn't much we can do until we confirm that Hao is actually back and where he is."

"Need I remind you that he already sent someone to attack you. I don't think we need much more confirmation than that," Ren spoke with a little contempt.

Horohoro blinked in slight confusion. The details of that encounter had already been explained and it hardly sounded like an attack. "I thought the story was that you attacked the girl and she defended herself. Isn't that why you were upset? Because you were beaten by a cute little pink bunny?"

A vein became visible on Ren's forehead and he took several deep breaths before he settled on glaring at Horohoro for that last comment, "That doesn't change the fact that she was sent here, by Hao. Even if it wasn't an attack, she did say that Hao was the one that sent her."

"I thought that Hao was defeated for good after that last fight between him and Yoh-kun," interrupted Lyserg. "It looked like he was sliced cleanly in half, so how can Hao still be alive?"

"That is a very good question," agreed Ren. All eyes turned to Yoh as Ren asked the question again. "Yoh, how is it that Hao can still be alive after that attack you used to beat him?"

Yoh laughed nervously as he replied, "I honestly have no idea how that happened..." _Although I'm kind of glad that my attack didn't kill him. Even with all that he's done, he's still my brother. _His answer was the truth. Yoh didn't know why Hao had survived the attack, but at the same time he was relieved that he hadn't killed him. This was probably the reason why his conscience hadn't bothered him after the fight, because subconsciously he must have felt that he hadn't succeeded in killing Hao. Yoh sighed and got ready to climb out of the hotspring/bath.

"The meeting isn't over yet," noted Chocolove.

Yoh sighed and returned to his seat. The rest of them were not about to let Hao's resurfacing go unchecked, but Yoh just wanted a chance to clear his head and watch the sky up at Funbari Hill Cemetery. Something about this whole situation just felt really different from the way things had been during the Shaman Fight.

Then it registered: Crystal had called Hao her friend. She had said that she had agreed to go along with Hao's request for her to go to Tokyo to deal with Yoh. She had even gone as far as to say that she believed that deep down, Hao wasn't really a bad person. This wasn't someone who worshipped Hao and would die for the world that he wished to create. She wasn't someone who supported him out of fear of his power.

"Yoh-kun! Earth to Yoh-kun!" Manta's voice snapped Yoh back into reality.

Yoh blinked as if he had been asleep and responded, "What is it?"

"We want to know what you think would be the best action to take right now," replied Horohoro.

The idea hit Yoh so fast he honestly didn't see it coming, "Why don't we try to investigate Crystal to see if she really does know Hao?"

"There's just one small problem with that," said Manta.

Yoh looked momentarily confused, "What would that be?"

"She isn't in Japan anymore and we don't know exactly where she went except that it was in California," answered Manta.

Yoh thought about it for a moment before a light suddenly registered in his mind, "Then I nominate Lyserg to be in charge of the investigation. With his dowsing skills, he should be able to find where she is no problem."

"That certainly is true, but by myself?" Lyserg seemed a little nervous. "What if I do run into Hao?"

Yoh nodded, "Good point. I'll leave it to you to decide who to take with you." With that Yoh climbed out of the hotspring/bath as quickly as he could manage and bolted for his room. The others watched him go, all sweatdropping.

"I'd be happy to join you in going to California," volunteered Bokuto no Ryu.

Ren and Horohoro exchanged sweatdrops before Horohoro added, "Count me in. I'll go too."

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Yoh was sprawled out in the middle of his room staring blankly at the ceiling. His memorial tablet lit up briefly as Amidamaru took shape in the room.

"Yoh-Dono, it really isn't your fault," the samurai ghost tried his best to sound reassuring.

Yoh sat up and sighed, "If I had had the resolve to finish him off when I had the chance, he wouldn't be able to threaten us now."

"You've already beaten him once, so it isn't like you won't be able to rise to the occasion and do it again," noted Amidamaru.

Yoh nodded and spoke in his normal voice, "That's right, Hao has already been defeated in this lifetime. That means that he isn't invincible, and he knows it."

Chapter Two, Part Three: Quiet Days Return to Me

Crystal sat quietly in the back seat on the right hand side of the bus. Dull blue headphones covered her ears and connected to the silvery CD player with the clear, light blue cover she held in one hand. Inside was her copy of the Pokemon 2BA Master soundtrack set on repeat one as she listened to the tenth track for the fifth time on the way to school. [For those of you who don't know, track 10 is Together Forever.] It was about all she could do to keep herself from going completely crazy with some of the things that happened during the daily rides on the bus.

One seat ahead and to the right of her was Tyriel. He was seated with another boy who spent a considerable amount of the ride to school pinned on the floor under the seat. This was part of the regular daily schedule. He didn't do this to the other boy intentionally, the other boy simply brought it upon himself by getting on the floor in the first place. In his mind, Tyriel was just trying to teach the boy a lesson that so far he continued to fail daily.

Crystal continued listening to the same song on her CD player starting to hum along with the background music. After she had returned from Tokyo and reported back to Hao at the waterfall, they had parted ways. At first Crystal had thought it was because he was disappointed in the way that she had interpreted his instructions based on the way she had explained her dealings with Yoh and company while she had been in Tokyo. When she reflected on the situation later, she realized that although it was very faint Hao had seemed to be showing some concern for her safety. She had concluded that was the real reason why he didn't want her to get involved any further.

"Crystal!" Tyriel's voice came in over the sound of the song repeating itself on her CD player and she lowered her headphones around her neck.

"What?" Crystal looked to Tyriel who had twisted around in his seat to look back at her with his foot planted firmly on the chest of the boy who was still stuck under the seat.

"Are you alright?" asked Tyriel.

Crystal blinked in confusion, "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, you had that far away look and seemed to be a little sad," replied Tyriel.

Crystal sighed, "I'm perfectly fine, so don't worry." She returned her headphones so they covered her ears and returned to listening to the song. Tyriel ducked back into his seat just as the driver was about to yell at him. Crystal looked out the window and smiled thoughtfully to herself. _I think I might have actually gotten through to Hao at least a little bit. That's a good start at least._ With that in mind, Crystal started humming along with her music again.

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Crystal was sprawled out on the grass field toward the end of her Physical Education class with Takikoneko curled up a little ways away from her. She had free time after she got back into her normal clothes, so she was using it to watch as the clouds passed by. Next would be lunch, but she wasn't feeling particularly hungry and thought about maybe just staying there on the field until her next class.

Crystal had gotten away with her little trip to Tokyo for one very good reason. It had been Spring Break which meant that she hadn't skipped out on school. After she had explained things to her parents there had been an unpleasant silence followed by looks that seemed to indicate they thought she was crazy. She had expected that, but after that it seemed as though they all agreed not to question what had happened again.

So, Crystal had gone on with her old life. She had returned to school as though nothing had changed, except for the fact that Taki now came with her where ever she went. It made sense that they should stick together since they were supposed to be a team. Still, she didn't feel quite right about returning to her old everyday life. For a little while she had been part of something big and deep down she felt that she was supposed to be a part of that.

A familiar presence a little ways off to her right made her sit up with a start, "What in the world is Hao doing here at my school?!"

To Be Continued...

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A Word From the Characters

Ren: Correct me if I'm wrong, but I didn't think this was intended to be an angst fic.

Yoh: Yeah, I seem really out of character when I act like that.

Taki: I'm not fat! (in response to the kid's "That thing was huge" comment)

Crystal: The humor aspect really takes hold next chapter when Lyserg and his group confront me in California, but I'm not allowed to reveal the details yet.

Horohoro: Why not?

Crystal: Because that would spoil the surprise. As usual, the insane authoress is more inspired to update when she gets reviews, the sillier the better.

Hao: It has also been discovered that she responds very nicely to threats from Anna.

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A Word From the Authoress

As some of you might have already realized, this is my first attempt at a Shaman King fanfiction with a lot of backing from some of my close friends who keep helping organize my thoughts. The only reason I didn't get around to updating last week is because I was away being a CIT at Camp Round Meadow with the YMCA. I hope all you readers are enjoying the fanfic, because I'm having a great time writing it.


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Shaman King and its characters belong to Hiroyuki Takei, not me.

Author's Notes: If you want to see my long, drawn out explanation of things, take a look at the Chapter 1 Prologue. I don't feel like repeating myself and I'm sure you don't want to read it again if you already have.

WARNING! There be spoilers ahead!

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In Response to Reviews

To Zetsumei: So, you finally read a fanfic that you haven't yet been included in and can't possibly write yourself into. It wasn't so painful now, was it?

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To Cat Silver: At this point I don't think Shiro and Shiva mind all that much about the fanfic anymore... considering what goes on in chatrooms, your fanfic is pretty mild in comparison. At any rate, I better move along with the fanfic so we can get beyond the angst and into the fun!

* * *

The Original Characters

Midnight

Age Unknown

Birthday Unknown

Details: The spirit of a wolf and coyote mix, found in small numbers in Crystal and Tyriel's hometown. As they mostly appeared in the creek near Tyriel's house, he was one of the few people that was actually aware of their presence. After meeting Hao and becoming aware of his power of second sight, Tyriel befriended one of the spirits and they have since become partners. [The personality of Midnight is based on another of my friends.]

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Chapter Three, Part One: Complications

"I see you have found yourself a capable ghost," Hao observed the semi-transparent beast that stood beside Tyriel with his usual amused smile on his face. Apparently this Tyriel was quite taken with the idea of joining him, and quite capable of accomplishing what was requested of him. Finding a spirit partner had only taken him less than a month after he was aware that he could see spirits.

Tyriel nodded while the beast beside him let out a bored yawn. Despite not being human, the ghost certainly looked bored. Tyriel seemed to be itching for battle as well, which was rather entertaining. He was about to comment on something when a rather unexpected, although familiar voice interrupted him.

"What exactly is going on here?" demanded Crystal with a rather ominous looking Takikoneko perched on her shoulder. Tyriel was surprised to note that both of them were glaring at Hao, not at him.

Hao didn't actually wonder why Crystal knew exactly where he was. Her ability to track people down simply by recognizing their presence was not something to be taken lightly and clearly he had under-estimated exactly how capable she was of noticing him. Maybe meeting with Tyriel at the Middle School hadn't been the best idea.

Crystal folded her arms across her chest, but her glare faded to a less intimidating, annoyed look. Takikoneko jumped down from her shoulder and took on her humanoid form, also staring crossly at Hao. Crystal spoke again, "I guess you were trying to protect me from getting involved, but it's already a little too late for that. And did you think I wouldn't notice when my friend just up and disappeared with you?"

"Why would I bother trying to protect you?" protested Hao. The idea sounded completely absurd to him, although there was the question of why he never thought about putting her power to use.

"Perhaps it's because she's your friend," supplied Taki in an attempt to be helpful. The beast beside Tyriel, that was called Midnight, growled at her. This caused Taki to change back into her kitten form and hide on Crystal's other shoulder. Midnight looked thoroughly amused by this display of terror, but returned his attention to the happenings between the humans.

Hao wanted to protest again, but somehow he got the impression that there was some truth to Taki's words even if he himself didn't want to believe it. Crystal started talking again before he had a chance to consider the matter further, and he was kind of glad that he didn't get to continue thinking about it, because he really didn't want to.

"In any event, who do you think is going to control Tyriel once he starts doing your dirty work for you?" Crystal's serious expression made the answer clear. "Whether you like it or not, I'm joining you too."

Hao sighed in defeat, "Do what you like. I won't stop you." It was actually more along the lines of he couldn't stop her, but he wanted to at least maintain the image that he was the one that was in charge.

"Was that really so hard?" Crystal smiled, not pausing to wonder what had gotten Takikoneko so worked up.

Tyriel looked to Crystal nervously, "Why exactly are you doing this?"

"Someone has to act as your conscience once you get worked up in a fight, and so far I'm the only person you listen to," replied Crystal indifferently. _Like I'm going to let myself be kept out of something this big? As if._

Chapter Three, Part Two: Confrontation

Lyserg, Ryu and Horohoro had been watching the entire discussion from a conveniently located row of bushes. So far they had managed to keep themselves scarce, but Lyserg's anger was starting to boil over at the sight of Hao. It wouldn't be much longer until he lost it altogether, and then the game would be up.

_That girl seriously KOed Ren with one attack? She doesn't look very strong. _Horohoro couldn't believe that it was possible. Then again, she was talking to Hao without any sign of being afraid of him. Moreover, it sounded like he didn't have much choice but to let her do what she wanted. It was actually a pretty good show, as long as you could ignore the fact that Lyserg was about to explode.

Ryu was more concerned with helping Lyserg keep a hold on his temper, not that it was actually working.

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"Does it have to be the guy with the dog-like ghost?" whined Takikoneko from Crystal's shoulder.

Crystal sighed patiently, "I can understand you being frightened, but I can't just let Tyriel take off like this without volunteering to keep an eye on him... and besides, I think his ghost was just playing with you."

"If you can justify that as playing," snorted Takikoneko.

Crystal lowered her voice, "It feels like we might have some hostile company. I count three, in the bushes... all of them Shamans with spirit partners."

"You're right, as usual," replied Taki, resuming her humanoid form beside Crystal, away from Tyriel and Midnight.

The way that Lyserg leapt from beyond the bushes was similar to what happens when you take a match to a powder keg. The attack that Lyserg was directing at Hao with his crystal pendulum would have landed on its mark, had it either been a little faster or if Crystal hadn't been compelled to step in.

For lack of having her usual weapon at hand, Crystal had picked up a medium length stick. In the course of a few seconds, she had Taki's power transfered to the stick and had her Oversoul of the giant dragon standing in the path of the crystal pendulum. Put simply, it bounced off of the dragon's scales and Lyserg glared at Crystal.

Crystal only smiled, "You know, if not for the fact that you were, and still are, radiating an incredible amount of hostility, I might not have noticed you at all." She looked to the bushes and waved her free hand, "I know you're in there, so you might as well show yourselves... I'm guessing that you must all be friends of Yoh's, otherwise I couldn't begin to guess what you're doing here."

The element of surprise lost, Horohoro and Ryu emerged from the bushes, Oversouls at the ready. Lyserg seemed to have calmed down and looked back to his two companions to give them a warning, "Clearly this girl, Crystal, has a lot more going for her than just pure power."

"Yeah, I kind of figured that... what she said before though... does that mean she reads people's emotions?" asked Horohoro.

The dragon Oversoul that Crystal had used seemed to disappear and was replaced by the sudden transformation of the stick in Crystal's hand into a spiritual sword. Crystal sighed, resting the sword over her shoulder, "I guess I can read people's emotions, but you still haven't answered my question... are you all Yoh's friends?"

"That's right," answered Ryu. "Why does that concern you?"

Tyriel had removed a rapter claw on a chain from around his neck and transformed Midnight into a Spirit Flame. He put the Spirit Flame into the rapter claw on the chain and it seemed to transform into a spiritual claymore. Tyriel smiled almost insanely, "Because she probably doesn't want to fight with you, but that doesn't mean that I won't."

Chapter Three, Part Three: Intervention

Hao watched as Crystal and Tyriel took action. The two of them certainly could prove to be useful, except that Crystal was acting on her own and Tyriel seemed to be supporting her. In any case, they were clearly acting on his side for the moment. At least, that was how it must have looked from the perspective of Yoh's friends.

Whereas Crystal seemed totally unwilling to fight with Yoh's friends, Tyriel had an almost maniacal grin on his face. Hao decided to get a better view of the fight from up in a nearby tree. Since Lyserg, Ryu and Horohoro showed no sign of performing the first move, Tyriel gladly took control of the fight.

When Tyriel swung the spiritual claymore, a combination of high pressure wind and electricity was released from the blade. Horohoro responded with an ice shield, canceling out the attack. The problem was that Tyriel had seemingly disappeared to a point that even Crystal didn't seem to know where he had gone.

Behind Horohoro, Tyriel had locked swords with Ryu. Either he was very fast, or there was something about him that allowed him to totally vanish from the battlefield and reappear where ever he damn well pleased. At any rate, a little more force from Tyriel sent Ryu crashing through Horohoro's ice shield, certainly informing Horohoro of his new location.

Lyserg attempted binding Tyriel with his crystal pendulum. Apparently Lyserg's dowsing skills were faster than Tyriel's disappearing act, because he certainly got caught up in the cable. Ryu had recovered, so he and Horohoro decided to use a double team attack on the target they could now actually hit. Their attack was met by Crystal's spiritual sword, which now appeared to be on fire.

_I didn't want it to come to this... however, if I don't have a choice in the matter, I might as well make my presence count. _The shockwave from Crystal's defensive action caused Lyserg, Horohoro and Ryu to go flying back, leaving Tyriel free to escape his bonds. The flames around the sword faded and she rested it over her shoulder again, "I really didn't want to have to do that, but I have a certain policy about protecting my friends... even if that means becoming the bad guy to do so..."

Even Lyserg was shaken by Crystal's words, so much so that he momentarily forgot why he had been so angry in the first place. Hao's amused laughter from up in the tree was more than enough to explain that. He could guess why Hao was entertained though: he, Ryu and Horohoro had just been swatted like flies and could barely even stand up.

"You guys should be fine in a few minutes... that shockwave was another of my stunning techniques, like the one I used on Ren," Crystal seemed to enjoy explaining the nature of her attacks, not that it made a lot of difference when she seemed to make them all up as she went along.

Hao descended from the tree, "We're going to leave now, if that's alright with you Crystal."

Crystal shrugged restoring Taki to the form of the dragon, looming ominously behind her. She glanced to Lyserg, Ryu and Horohoro, "If you're smart, you'll go back to Japan now and let the others know what they're up against." With that, she had Takiryuu lower a clawed hand down to raise her onto the dragon's shoulder.

Tyriel had released his Oversoul, restoring the rapter claw on the chain to its place around his neck. He joined Crystal, along with Midnight on the dragon's other shoulder. The dragon took flight, heading in the general direction of the waterfall.

Hao looked over Yoh's friends with an amused smile, "You're lucky she stepped in... I don't think her friend would have hesitated to kill all three of you." After that he was standing comfortably in the hand of the Spirit of Fire as it took flight.

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Several minutes passed. By the time Lyserg, Ryu and Horohoro could move effectively again, the dragon and the Spirit of Fire were gone from sight. They all stood around quietly for a few minutes longer.

"Well then, I guess we should go back to Funbari Onsen," suggested Horohoro.

Lyserg frowned, "We have to stop Hao..."

"If we want to deal with Hao, we're going to need Yoh no Danna anyway. Let's go back," said Ryu.

Lyserg nodded, "... alright then."

Chapter Three, Part Four: Decisions

Crystal had stopped off at her house on the way to the waterfall to exchange her school supplies for what she considered to be a few essential things. Most noteably, she once again had the plastic sword in the plastic sheath strapped to a belt around her waist. No one had been at her house as it was the middle of the day and her brother was still at school while her parents were at work. No one was going to try to stop her and quite frankly, she didn't want to be stopped. This was an adventure that she fully intended to be a part of.

Tyriel sat beside her at the top of the waterfall. They waited patiently for Hao to return, because Crystal had a feeling that he would. If Tyriel had any doubts about what he was doing, he was the only one that was aware of it. Crystal's doubts had been put to rest when she had seen Tyriel fighting with Yoh's friends. She wasn't about to give him a chance to lose control in a fight.

The Spirit of Fire descended from the sky and vanished as Hao settled himself across from the base of the waterfall. He looked to Crystal and Tyriel at the top of the waterfall, "If you're both here, then I guess that means you've worked through any doubts you had about joining me."

"Call it what you like, I'm doing this to keep Tyriel out of trouble," replied Crystal indifferently. Takikoneko was once again perched on her shoulder.

Tyriel shrugged, "After this afternoon, I'm looking forward to it."

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By the next afternoon, the details were known by the rest of those present at Funbari Onsen. Hao was most certainly alive, and from the sound of it had some new followers that totally displayed the old rule of looks can be deceiving. Somehow none of this had actually surprised Yoh, Ren, Anna or Manta as they had seen Crystal display a fraction of her power as well.

"Crystal doesn't want to be our enemy, that much is clear... but she doesn't want to betray Hao either," said Anna. "I think she was actually serious when she said he was her friend."

Horohoro sweatdropped, "Does being crazy always go hand in hand with having lots of power?"

Yoh shook his head, "She isn't crazy... she's just loyal to her friends, which isn't a bad thing." _Maybe if she can get that across to Hao, we won't have to fight again... and he might actually rethink his whole plan to destroy humanity, being as Crystal was an ordinary human before she met him._

Lyserg nodded, "You're right. She only fought when her friend's life was put in danger, and even then she just worked to demobilize us. She didn't try to hurt anyone."

"She might not want to be our enemy, but as long as she's working with Hao, we're going to have to face the fact that we might end up having to fight her," noted Ren.

Yoh sighed, "Unfortunately, that is true and we can't simply overlook it... however, if it can be avoided, that would be better."

To Be Continued...

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A Word From the Characters

Horohoro: Yay! I got screen time this chapter and I didn't come off as a total idiot!

Ren: Can I please hit him?

Taki: (dangles a cheeseburger in front of Yoh)

Yoh: (dives for it and crashes into a tree) Itai... 

Manta: Isn't that a dub reference?

Hao: So, it's still funny to watch.

Crystal: As always, the insane authoress feels more inspired to write when she gets reviews, the sillier, the better. Threats from Anna or threatening to get Anna on her case also work too.


	5. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Shaman King and its characters belong to Hiroyuki Takei, not me.

Author's Notes: At this point in time I have seen the entire Shaman King anime in Japanese with English subtitles and scattered episodes of the dubbed first season. I have read the first three volumes of the English manga and await the release of volume 4. I have visited countless spoiler sites and a lot of the information just doesn't agree from site to site. Most of my background information is based on the manga, such as the fact that the official start of the Shaman Fight was January 1, 1999. The rest of the information, such as the outcome of the Shaman Fight, is based on the anime. The reason behind this is mostly because my mind organized the information that way and it just seems to fit in well with my plans for this fanfic.

WARNING! There be spoilers ahead!

* * *

**Asakura Hao Birthday Special**

Chapter Four, Part One: In Which Hao Discovers Laser Tag

Still in California, Hao's group was once again camped out in the middle of the desert intentionally set away from any clear signs of civilization. The group was smaller than it had been during the Shaman Fight, as it only consisted of those followers who had survived and still retained any loyalty to Hao. So far, only the members of Hanagumi and Opacho had agreed to join him again.

Then there were Crystal and Tyriel, who hadn't necessarily joined him out of pure loyalty. Even so, Hao liked having them around because they had a talent for making things more interesting. It so happened that on this particular day Crystal and Tyriel had both gotten up about half an hour before anyone else in the group and had moved a little ways off whispering to each other. The only thing Hao managed to hear coherently was "Ultra Zone" and he hadn't been entirely sure what that meant.

"Hao-sama?" Hao turned and acknowledged Opacho. "Is it really alright to let those two act on their own?"

Hao looked back to where Crystal and Tyriel were still whispering amongst themselves and then looked back to Opacho with a thoughtful expression, "Let's just wait and see what they're planning."

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It was several more minutes before Crystal and Tyriel finished their private discussion. There was already a certain tension between the old followers and these so-called newcomers, but Hao honestly didn't seem to care. The underlying theory was that Crystal might even be trying to take control of the group altogether. Now that really was a silly idea.

In any event, the two of them returned to the general area occupied by Hao's group looking as though some secret agreement had been made. Crystal ignored the dark looks she received from the members of the Hanagumi. She approached Hao directly while Tyriel stopped several paces behind her. The expression on her face was difficult to read, but she sounded quite pleased from the way she said, "We have decided to take you to Ultra Zone for your birthday."

Hao was puzzled for a moment. He had no idea what this "Ultra Zone" was, but Crystal seemed to believe it was a good thing. And weren't birthday parties just a silly human ritual to get presents? Even so, Hao was curious.

"I know it must seem a little sudden," Crystal continued, "but everyone deserves to have a little fun on their birthday."

Even if it was a human activity, coming from Crystal it probably wasn't the sort of thing that most people actually did. Based on the stories from back at the waterfall, even around other people like her, Crystal always seemed a bit odd. That in itself wasn't a bad thing, and while it did make it difficult to fit in, it also made her unique. And interesting.

"Very well," Hao finally agreed. "If you insist, I suppose it must be something worth looking into."

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It should be noted that Ultra Zone is what is generally referred to as a Laser Tag place. That means that they have a whole area that's mostly closed off to the public except those who pass through the waiting room to participate in a round of laser tag. They also host a small arcade area and small rooms for the actual parties which involve pizza, soda and cake. Aside from that, it's the one of the last places parents generally want to spend money and one of the places where those children who like the activities can end up spending a fortune.

The decision was made to make a reservation for a party at night. This was partly so that the group wouldn't draw too much attention to themselves, being as it was a Friday and if they had scheduled it for the day there would have been some question as to why several of their number weren't at school. It was also partly because that was when Crystal and Tyriel knew some of the best rounds of laser tag could be had. More people seemed to show up at night and that meant the competition would be made that much more interesting.

Upon entering the building that all of this would take place in, Hao was particularly fascinated by the flashing lights and techno music that made a point of filling the air in such a way that he could barely hear himself think, let alone anyone else. After several minutes, it became clear that thinking wasn't completely necessary when the majority of the people in the building were there for the same reason. Fortunately, it was considerably less distracting in the little party room the group gathered in before their first round of laser tag.

Crystal spoke up from her place at one corner of the table, "Alright, I guess I should lay out some ground rules so we don't get ourselves thrown out of here and because I happen to rather like this part of town so I'd prefer if it didn't get vaporized."

"I get it, no Shaman Powers, right?" Macchi spoke up.

Crystal sweatdropped, "They really won't help with what we'll be doing anyway, so yes."

It was a few more minutes before the entire group was in agreement, but once that was settled the real fun was about to start. Tyriel had a strangely calculating look on his face. For some reason this bothered Crystal.

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Several more minutes passed before the group was summoned to the waiting room. Inside the basic rules of the game were explained followed by a general overview of the equipment. In the case of Ultra Zone, there are three teams: the Red Team, Blue Team, and Green Team. Hao's group had settled in the area underneath the red light and it seemed like the evening crowd would allow them to keep it that way.

Then they were dismissed to the next room where they would be presented with their gear for the game. The better part of the next fifteen minutes was spent trying to find a vest small enough for Opacho. Once that was dealt with, it was off to the battlefield.

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Hao had decided that the Hanagumi would stay behind to watch the Red Base while the rest of them went off to score some bonus points by invading the other two bases and shooting the special targets in each of them. The maze-like walls within this large room were black except that depending on where they were, they were decorated in the color of the team that was centered in that area. This made navigation relatively easy, except that one couldn't quite predict exactly which way each of the paths was going. Add to the fact that there was a layer of artificial fog flowing across the floor and it seemed like this place really was a battlefield.

Hao observed that Crystal and Tyriel seemed to know exactly where they were going which meant they really must have been familiar with the layout of this place already. He was snapped out of his thoughts as an unpleasant beeping noise came from where Crystal and Tyriel were ahead of him.

"Sheesh, I've been hit already." Crystal muttered under her breath as she waited out the temporary inactive mode of her equipment before it reactivated and she could get back in the game again. "This is why I miss Quzar."

_Quzar? Now what's she talking about?_ Hao hadn't known what Ultra Zone was until he had seen it for himself, but "Quzar" didn't even sound like a real word.

"It isn't my fault they closed down," replied Tyriel. "At least the laser tag concept didn't go with it."

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They cleared the other two bases getting shot a minimal number of times which was mostly due to the fact that Tyriel revealed that he was actually an Ultra Zone veteran. Because of that fact, Tyriel was told to lead the Hanagumi to the other bases to rack up more points before the game was over. Crystal gave Tyriel very specific instructions that if he even thought of going traitor on them, she would be dealing with him personally.

Chapter Four, Part Two: Reflection

It was shocking. The evening had been spent among ordinary humans doing the sort of thing that some of them do for entertainment. Somehow the fast food, soda, bright lights and loud music didn't seem quite as horrible as Hao had originally felt they were. In fact, for the most part it had been fun granted that when Tyriel started shooting at his own team during the second round of laser tag, Crystal had been the one to bash him over the head with her own gun.

Hao chuckled, "I'd say that maybe there is actually hope for this world, but that would be giving humans too much credit."

The group had returned to their little camp in the desert. Considering that it was very late, most of the rest of the group had already decided to call it a night. The exception was Crystal who had set herself a little ways away from the group sprawled out on the sand to look up at the night sky. Takikoneko was curled up next to her also looking to the stars. Hao didn't have to move too much closer to know that they were talking and to understand the conversation they were having.

"We don't get stars like this at my dad's house," Crystal explained to Takikoneko. "That's because the smog and city lights fill the sky and dim the starlight in the city."

Taki then asked, "Then why did you ever bother to put up with living there in the first place?"

"... uh," Crystal hesitated before laughing. "I guess because I kinda like having my own room and there's a pool, but otherwise it really doesn't seem all that great."

"Do you miss it?" asked Hao suddenly. This caused Crystal to sit up in considerable surprise as she had not been aware that he was listening in on them.

Crystal regained control and answered, "Not really, no. I can't sever all ties with my family of course, but I made the choice to leave of my own free will. At present, I have no desire to go back to that ordinary life." She resumed sprawling out on the sand to look up at the stars with a wistful smile. _This just seems right somehow. Heck, I don't know how to explain it. It just seems like, for now at least, this is where I'm supposed to be._

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The start of the next day wasn't nearly as exciting as the day before had been. This was probably because Crystal and Tyriel weren't secretly planning a party and because in general nothing was really happening. It was simply another day that would pass with the assembled group sitting around in the middle of the desert rather far away from any signs of civilization. While this in itself suited Hao just fine, it did not effectively deal with Yoh or the fact that Yoh had somehow managed to defeat him in the Shaman Fight.

Hao got the mental impression that this bothered him for the wrong reason. He wasn't sure whether it was having lost the power of the Great Spirit or the fact that Yoh was the one that defeated him that was actually bothering him. It was rather frustrating that someone who seemed as weak as Yoh had actually managed to beat him, but it wasn't like Yoh had managed it on his own. Hao had quite liked the power of the Great Spirit, but at the time he had been too crazy to really enjoy it properly.

This particular train of thought was starting to give Hao a headache, so he stopped thinking about it. The whole matter had him greatly confused, or maybe he was still in a daze from all those bright flashing lights and the loud music from the night before. Ultra Zone had been an incredibly distracting place, which seemed to explain why people would much rather be there than at home on a friday night. 

Hao sweatdropped. Why was he thinking about playing another round of laser tag when he was trying to focus on how he was going to deal with Yoh? He could challenge Yoh and his friends to a round. That would be fun, although it really wouldn't solve anything. Another sweatdrop. Hao put his hand to his forehead convinced that there had to be something wrong with him, but his temperature felt normal so far as he could tell.

It was at this point that Crystal walked over with Takikoneko perched on her shoulder. For some reason she always seemed to distance herself from the group, like she couldn't decide whether she was a part of it or not. Hao hadn't really noticed it before, but Crystal seemed to be rather detached from the world around her when there wasn't anything drawing her attention. When she had been looking at the stars was one of the few times Hao had actually managed to catch her by surprise. Perhaps he could ask Tyriel more about the so-called "ordinary life" she didn't have any regrets about leaving behind.

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That evening Hao volunteered to go along with Tyriel to collect wood for the campfire. Sure it seemed a little strange, but it wasn't like anyone was about to question him on the matter. The Hanagumi were busy playing Old Maid with a deck of cards they had bought at the little anime store a block away from Ultra Zone that Crystal had been kind enough to show them. Crystal was where she had been the night before watching the first traces of sunset begin to manifest themselves. Opacho would tag along with Hao and Tyriel.

Tyriel figured something was out of place with relative ease, "I know you could quite well have sent anyone else to collect firewood, so what is it that you want from me?"

"I want to know more about Crystal's other life," replied Hao not really trying to mask his curiosity. "She always talked about playing games and telling stories, but I'm sure there must be more to her than that."

Tyriel let out a quiet sigh and seemed to think for several minutes before finally saying, "That's going to be a little tricky."

"I figure since you've been her friend on that end, you probably know at least something that I don't already know," added Hao.

"She doesn't really like to talk about it anymore, but back when I first met her she was going around asking everyone the same question," explained Tyriel. "Would you rather be considered popular or would you rather be able to trust your friends? I think it was because she has always had to deal with the fact that there are those people who simply don't like her. She seemed surprised when I answered with the latter." Tyriel deliberately paused for a moment to let this information sink in.

Hao knew how it felt to be feared and hated. After all, it was his immense power that caused people to cower before him. It was strange though, because the people Tyriel was referring to probably had no knowledge of the world of spirits and therefore would know nothing of Crystal's abilities. They didn't dislike her out of fear.

Tyriel continued, "These days she calls herself a social outcast, but she claims that she'd rather not be like everyone else if it meant becoming a mindless drone. Her take on the whole matter is that a lot of people don't like her because she's too different and her view of the world is too crazy. She doesn't hold it against them, but from time to time the pain does get to her. Of course, she isn't really one to let anyone else know about it."

"I see," Hao spoke after a moment of absorbing that information. He suddenly understood why Crystal intentionally went off by herself from time to time. She had said herself that she could read other people's emotions and it was starting to sound like other people's emotions could affect her if they were strong enough. Enough people hitting her with that sensation of dislike could probably even cause her to feel physical pain. "That explains why she keeps distancing herself from the Hanagumi."

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The next morning Hao approached Crystal before anyone else had woken up. As it was, Crystal was awake watching the sunrise. This led Hao to wonder if and when this girl actually found the time to sleep and reached the conclusion that she probably dozed off while she was looking at the stars.

"I have a special assignment for you," Hao spoke as he got closer.

Crystal sat up and turned around to face him, "What is it?"

"You don't have to of course, but I'd like you to go back to Funbari Onsen to challenge Yoh." Hao paused before adding, "I don't want you to kill him or anything like that, but I'd like to know how the two of you compare in battle."

A look of confusion appeared on her face, but Crystal recovered quickly. She looked up at the sky which was starting to fill with color as the sun rose over the mountains a considerable distance away from where they were in the desert. She smiled, "A sparring match actually sounds kind of fun."

"And one more thing," Hao continued. "You're welcome to take Tyriel along with you to as you say... keep him under control."

Crystal nodded, "I was thinking the same thing."

To Be Continued...

* * *

A Word From the Characters

Horohoro: Do I sense a hint of sibling rivalry coming from Hao?

Taki: It seems that way, doesn't it? (dangles a container of napalm in front of Hao)

Hao: (dives for it and crashes into a tree, joining Yoh)

Ren: Why napalm?

Taki: What else would draw the attention of a pyromaniac?

Crystal: As always, the insane authoress feels more inspired to write when she gets reviews, the sillier, the better.

* * *

A Word From the Authoress

Sorry for the lack of updating, but this chapter took a little while to plan and actually write out. Moreover, I had two separate vacations scheduled within days of each other which took me away from my computer for roughly two weeks. All is right now, so the next chapter shouldn't take nearly as long. My mentioning of Quzar was a little tribute to the nifty laser tag place that was eventually closed down, eventually replaced by one of my favorite anime stores which has since been closed down, and since the mall was re-developed, exists in a completely different location under a new name.


	6. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Shaman King and its characters belong to Hiroyuki Takei, not me. Ranma 1/2 and its characters, specifically one Ryoga Hibiki, belong to Rumiko Takahashi.

Author's Notes: At this point in time I have seen the entire Shaman King anime in Japanese with English subtitles and scattered episodes of the dubbed first season. I have read the first four volumes of the English manga and await the release of volume 5. I have visited countless spoiler sites and a lot of the information just doesn't agree from site to site. Most of my background information is based on the manga, such as the fact that the official start of the Shaman Fight was January 1, 1999. The rest of the information, such as the outcome of the Shaman Fight, is based on the anime. The reason behind this is mostly because my mind organized the information that way and it just seems to fit in well with my plans for this fanfic.

WARNING! There be spoilers ahead!

* * *

In Response to Reviews

To wingweaver22: It was either the napalm or the gasoline canister with the box of matches.

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To Sara Stronhold: It's nice to know that there are actually people enjoying this project.

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To Nicole: I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying the story so far. Not to worry, there is plenty more scheduled ahead.

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To unholy-blaze: A dragon scale frying pan, huh? I dunno where the dragon scales would come from in this day and age, but whatever. The Spirit of Fire already made an appearence, so you really don't have to worry about that.

* * *

Chapter Five, Part One: Meanwhile, At Funbari Onsen

Nothing of particular interest had really been happening since Lyserg, Horohoro and Ryu had returned to Funbari Onsen after that one brief encounter with Hao while trying to learn more about Crystal. Coincidentally, the same day that Hao requested that Crystal return to challenge Yoh was also the day that the current residents of Funbari Onsen had planned a party for Yoh and Lyserg, being as their birthdays were within days of each other and it would be easiest to throw a party on the weekend somewhere in the middle.

It was a perfectly ordinary party except for the part when Horohoro, with the help of Kororo, filled the backyard with snow and somehow managed to drag everyone else into a huge snowball fight. Even Anna got caught up in the brawl. It was all well and good until Horohoro made some comment about Ren throwing like a girl which resulted in Ren drawing his Kwan Dao and actually trying to slice the Ainu in half.

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Some odd hours later the boys had retreated to the bath/hot spring. A few minutes into their bath, the boys fell into a confused silence. For no readily apparent reason, a small black piglet with a yellow bandana covered in scattered black checkerboard patterns crawled over to the bath/hot spring and dove in without hesitation. The boys exchanged confused glances, but no one was entirely certain what was going on.

Where the piglet had landed in the bath/hot spring there was now a naked teenage boy wearing the same bandana that had been around the piglet's neck around his forehead. He appeared to be roughly the same age as most of the boys present in the bath/hot spring. At this point in the timeline Yoh has just turned fifteen, so it should be easy to guess about how old the others in his group should be. The silence that had fallen over everyone was suddenly broken by Ren.

"What the hell just happened?!"

"It would appear that the piglet transformed into a teenage boy," supplied Chocolove.

"I can see that!" exclaimed Ren. "What I want to know is how that happened!"

The teenage boy that had joined them looked slightly embarassed, "It's kind of a long story. I am Hibiki Ryoga, and I'm looking for the Tendo Dojo."

"That doesn't explain the part about the pig," noted Horohoro.

Ryoga went into the epic tale of how his curse was all Ranma's doing and that he was looking for the Tendo Dojo to teach Ranma a lesson. To the confusion of everyone else, when they all went to change into their clothes Ryoga's normal outfit along with his backpack had somehow materialized in the changing room. They kindly gave Ryoga directions to get to Nerima where he believed he was certain to find someone who would be able to direct him to the Tendo Dojo. Ryoga started off in the opposite direction.

"No sense of direction?" commented Yoh.

Horohoro nodded, "It sure seems like it."

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After the hotel had been cleaned up after the party, Yoh and Manta headed out to visit the Funbari Hill Cemetery so Yoh could get in a little stargazing before it was time to call it a night.

Chapter Five, Part Two: Not an Average Challenge

Arriving in Tokyo had been a relatively simple matter. Taki had already made the trip once before and had memorized the route to Funbari Hill Cemetery. Even with the addition of Tyriel and Midnight this had not drawn much attention to them. This was also partly because they had chosen to travel in such a way that it would be dark when they got there.

The combination of traveling into a different timezone and burning her Furyoku the entire trip to maintain the Takiryuu Oversoul left Crystal rather exhausted. Add to this the fact that neither Crystal nor Taki could remember the route to Funbari Onsen and that was where the problem started to arise. Taki hadn't been paying attention to where Yoh was leading them because she had been too busy freaking out about the fact that Crystal hadn't been able to tell that he was the twin brother Hao had sent her to find. Crystal had only been there once and her hadn't exactly memorized the route either.

"Not to worry. I figure we'll probably run into Yoh here again," Crystal didn't seem particularly concerned about being hopelessly lost in a strange city. She was already up the tree looking up at the stars. Midnight let out a low growl which cause Taki to squeak before turning into her kitten form and scurrying up the tree to join Crystal.

Tyriel couldn't resist asking, "How did you reach that conclusion?"

"He probably comes here to stargaze on a regular basis," replied Crystal.

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Five minutes later Yoh and Manta strolled into the cemetary. Yoh took in the sight of Crystal and Takikoneko in the tree, with Tyriel and Midnight seemingly guarding them from the base of the tree in his usual calm manner. Manta had to double-take to make sure the guy at the base of the tree was actually human. He had an almost demonic look to him with the way he seemed to shift in and out of the shadows without even moving.

"Hm... I've met Crystal already, so you must be the Tyriel I heard about from the others," Yoh decided to start the conversation.

Tyriel grinned, causing Manta to flinch involuntarily. Crystal waved from where she was perched in the tree, "It's certainly an excellent night to look at the stars."

"I'm wondering... what brings you back to Tokyo?" asked Yoh.

Crystal sighed, "Hao wants me to fight you. Not a real fight actually, more like a sparring match. I think it could prove to be a fun experiment, so long as no one has to get seriously hurt."

Yoh nodded, "It sounds perfectly reasonable. Tomorrow then?"

"I like the sound of that," replied Crystal.

Yoh took his usual spot at the base of the tree and started looking at a particularly bright section of the night sky. Manta settled down next to him before suddenly realizing the agreement that Yoh and Crystal had just made with a few short sentences.

"You two are seriously going to fight?!"

Tyriel slipped around the opposite side of the tree, "Is there a problem with that?"

Manta gulped, "Not at all." There was definitely something very unnerving about that guy.

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Once the group had finished stargazing, it was time for Manta to head home. Yoh then went about the other task of leading the rest of the group to Funbari Onsen. If he was lucky, Anna wouldn't get too upset about the situation that had presented itself. _I'm sure Crystal has no intention of bringing harm to me or any of the others. I'm not so sure about that guy Tyriel though. Does he actually intend to attack someone or does he just like to scare people?_

"We really need to stop meeting like this," noted Crystal. As an afterthought she added, "Although I am glad I got a chance to meet you and some of your friends, although I'd prefer if it had been on more positive terms."

Yoh was still a little uncomfortable with the way Tyriel seemed to be making a point of lurking behind them in the shadows, but he got the impression that as long as Crystal was there Tyriel wouldn't get to harm anyone. Yoh nodded, "I don't think Ren is mad about what happened the first time we met anymore. Hopefully this will all resolve itself before anyone has to get hurt."

"Anything is possible as long you believe it is," replied Crystal with an optimistic expression on her face. Her expression shifted to one of mild annoyance as she turned around to face Tyriel, "That's quite enough of that. Do you want the entirety of Tokyo to think they've got a werewolf problem?"

Tyriel smiled an innocent and yet completely devious smile, "I think it would be fun."

_I really hope he keeps his mouth shut around Anna. _They continued walking in silence as Yoh led the way to Funbari Onsen.

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Such was not the case. Before Yoh could explain anything after entering Funbari Onsen, Tyriel's deathwish had already taken control again.

"Who's that evil looking witch?" Tyriel was looking directly at Anna.

When Anna slapped him and nothing happened, she honestly looked shocked. The same could be said for Ren, Horohoro, Lyserg and Chocolove. This did not apply to Ryu who had left for a "guys night out" with his gang which meant he might not be back for several days. Faust was on the roof with Eliza and as such did not get to witness this scene. Horohoro was the one that broke the stunned silence.

"Anna's slap had no effect?"

There was a faint crackling in the air as electricity seemed to condense in the air around Crystal's right hand. Her expression darkened, although she still didn't really look all that intimidating.

"... Tyriel, just what do you think you're doing?"

A fearful look appeared on Tyriel's face, although it was slightly masked by his amusement at having gotten to Anna like that. Crystal raised her hand and a bolt of lightning struck Tyriel, causing him to collapse in a charred heap on the floor. She relaxed and lowered her hand, before laughing nervously as she returned her attention to Anna.

"Sorry about the mess."

There was an exchange of sweatdrops around the room.

Chapter Five, Part Three: Wind, Water and Fire

The next morning Crystal was in her room, having decided that the best way to stay on Anna's good side was as a paying customer. She had changed her clothes so that she was now wearing black martial arts style pants and a black tank-top with a silver dragon pattern on the front. She still had the bracelet Hao had given her around her left wrist and she was still wearing her silver dragon pendant around her neck. Her trusty plastic sword was strapped over her shoulder and she was having a last minute tactics discussion with Taki.

"This is the first time we're going to fight a battle without taking the easy way out. In any event, you're better at illusions than real combat so just lend me your power and I'll do the fighting."

Taki nodded, "And yet you still don't know the full extent of your own power."

Crystal shrugged, "I'll cross that bridge when I come to it."

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Several hours later, Yoh and Crystal were ready to face off at the cemetery. The audience consisted of those who had been at Funbari Onsen to witness Crystal's ability to manipulate electricity and Manta, not about to miss one of Yoh's fights even if it wasn't necessarily a real fight. Yoh had already gotten into his Spirit of Sword double media and everyone was waiting on Crystal.

Crystal unclasped the necklace from around her neck and held it by the chain so the dragon pendant was dangling in front of her. In her other hand she drew her plastic sword. She looked to Taki, "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be," replied Taki.

Crystal nodded, "Taki into the plastic sword, into the dragon pendant!" The was a quick flash of light before the two objects combined with the pyromaniacal waterfall spirit to form a double-bladed sword that seemed to have blades made of fire. Crystal held onto the central shaft with both hands with a rather surprised look on her face.

"Wow. I didn't know I could do anything like this."

Ren sweatdropped, "You mean to say that you're still making up these abilities as you go along?"

"This should be interesting," said Yoh.

"Shall we get started then?" Crystal got into a battle ready pose.

Without any further hesitation, Yoh decided to open things with the Shockwave Buddhagiri, "Amidaryu Shinkuu Buttagiri!" When the dust cleared, the attack appeared to have hit its mark except for the fact that Crystal was no longer standing there. She had somehow timed it so that when she jumped to dodge she could use the explosion to launch herself into the air.

"Thanks for the lift. Now I believe it's my turn."

Crystal slashed her weapon across the air in front of her creating a crescent of flames to form her Burning Wind Slash, "Yoen-Uindo Surasshu!" Her attack also appeared to land its mark, but when the dust cleared Yoh was several feet off to the side having completely dodged it.

"This could go on for a while," Horohoro sweatdropped.

Chocolove decided to ask the question that had been nagging at everyone since the fight started, "If Crystal's spirit is that of a waterfall, then what's with all the fire attacks?"

"It would appear that how she attacks is completely up to her and that spirit of hers," commented Lyserg.

Ren nodded, "It is remarkable use of teamwork. Still, we have to remember that she did challenge Yoh."

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The fight continued for the next hour with Yoh and Crystal dodging or blocking each other's attacks while launching off their own. It was entertaining at first, but after an hour of watching them it was actually getting boring. However, an hour of ceaselessly burning up Furyoku in attacks was starting to show in the way Yoh's attacks were becoming less forceful. Crystal seemed to have a somewhat deeper energy well to draw from, but even she was starting to lose force.

As was often the case, Hao along with Opacho and the Hanagumi appeared from nowhere near where Tyriel was standing. Hao stepped forward as the Spirit of Fire manifested itself ominously behind him. He glanced to Crystal briefly, "I can take over from here."

"Huh?!" Crystal was obviously surprised, but she wasn't about to move. Something about the feel of the situation didn't seem right.

Amidamaru appeared beside Yoh as the Spirit of Sword collapsed. Hao was smirking rather maniacally, "It would appear that you've burned most of your Furyoku. This will make the task of killing you much easier."

To Be Continued...

* * *

A Word From the Characters

Horohoro: Oh great, now Hao is starting to sound like his old self again.

Lyserg: I figured he couldn't maintain the nice act very long before he'd finally reveal his true colors.

Ren: Well, this is only the first arc of the fanfic.

Taki: Yeah, things only get better from here on in. (rolls a disco ball in front of Crystal)

Crystal: (dives for it and crashes into a tree, joining Yoh and Hao)

Ren: Just how long do you plan to keep this up?

Taki: Until I run out of random objects to distract people with. Anyway, since Crystal is presently out of commission... the insane authoress feels more inspired to write when she gets reviews, the sillier the better. Threats from Anna usually work too.


	7. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Shaman King and its characters belong to Hiroyuki Takei, not me. Ranma 1/2 and its characters, specifically one Ryoga Hibiki, belong to Rumiko Takahashi.

Author's Notes: At this point in time I have seen the entire Shaman King anime in Japanese with English subtitles and scattered episodes of the dubbed first season. I have read the first four volumes of the English manga and await the release of volume 5. I have visited countless spoiler sites and a lot of the information just doesn't agree from site to site. Most of my background information is based on the manga, such as the fact that the official start of the Shaman Fight was January 1, 1999. The rest of the information, such as the outcome of the Shaman Fight, is based on the anime. The reason behind this is mostly because my mind organized the information that way and it just seems to fit in well with my plans for this fanfic.

WARNING! There be spoilers ahead!

* * *

In Response to Reviews

To Black Dragon: I don't actually mind cliffhangers except when I am forced to wait for months at a time to see what happens next. In this case, the continuation isn't going to be delayed all that long.

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To Plantress: Since Ryoga has no sense of direction, I figured I had a valid excuse to drag him into a different series like that. And now, the new chapter begins!

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Chapter Six, Part One: A Turning Point

Yoh had already exhausted most of his Furyoku in his battle with Crystal, which to his understanding was only supposed to have been a sparring match. The way that Hao was smirking seemed to suggest otherwise, but Crystal seemed just as surprised by this turn of events as his own friends were. Amidamaru floated by his side at the ready, but Yoh knew he wouldn't last long if he was actually forced to fight against Hao at this time.

"I really should thank Tyriel for the insight," Hao explained. "If I had known from the start that she was this naive, I would have planned this sooner."

Crystal's surprise rapidly transformed into anger which she directed, "We'll discuss this later... if later even occurs thank you."

Tyriel seemed to flinch, but he made no effort to deny having provided Hao with the means of pulling this elaborate scheme together. Crystal's anger faded into a sense of having realized that she was to blame for what was happening. If she hadn't been so trusting, she wouldn't have fallen into this pitiful excuse for a trap. It should have been obvious, but she had completely failed to acknowledge what was happening.

"Feeling frustrated?" Crystal acknowledged the question from Macchi with a rather blank expression on her face. "Maybe now you'll think twice before trying to hinder Hao-sama's plans."

"... I wasn't..." Crystal began to protest, but she wasn't sure what it was she was actually trying to deny. _I never tried to stop Hao from doing anything. I joined him to make sure Tyriel wouldn't use following Hao's orders as an excuse to kill people, but I didn't intend to become an obstacle. I just want to be a good friend. _She wasn't very good at being put on the spot like this. Her resolve began to crumble and after another minute of absorbing this obvious defeat, she seemed to stand down.

Satisfied with this success, Hao decided it was time to wrap things up by finally settingly things with Yoh himself. The Spirit of Fire raised a fist and slammed it down toward Yoh, where it was immediately intercepted by Crystal's double bladed, flaming sword. It was Hao's turn to look surprised.

He had been convinced that the aspect of betrayal would be a heavy blow to Crystal, but he never imagined that she would be the one to stand against him. Yoh looked equally surprised, but that could have been because he was surprised by the fact that Crystal could block a direct attack from the Spirit of Fire. Crystal spoke in a voice that seemed rather distant, and yet perfectly clear.

"It would appear I have lost my place in this conflict. However, there is always something worth protecting."

The Spirit of Fire pulled back. Crystal held her weapon at the ready beside her, a look of determination visible on her face. Hao responded indifferently, "Then I guess I'll just have to plow through you first."

"I don't believe you're going to attack me," replied Crystal. She had spoke those same words the first time Hao had threatened her life. At that time, Hao had responded by actually attempting to strike her down to prove her wrong. At least this time around she had the means to fight back.

Hao hesitated. He remembered that the two of them had had this converstation before. _After all this, how can she still convince herself that I'm not a bad person._ Hao pondered this a little longer and another thought struck him. _Maybe I'm not a bad person._ He shook his head and made an effort to snap himself out of that train of thought. _No, that isn't right. Humans are worthless and only those Shamans loyal to me deserve to exist in the world I will create._

Crystal braced herself as a blast of flames from the Spirit of Fire descended upon her. The outline of Takiryuu began to take shape around her as she lashed out with the double bladed, flaming sword. It had occured to her that simply defending herself from the Spirit of Fire wasn't going to get her message across. The air seemed to get heavy in the area surrounding where the dragon began to collect energy in front of its mouth. The only way to deal with a strong opponent was with an equally strong attack, and Crystal felt that her Midnight Dragon Blade would serve that purpose.

"Gozen Reiji Ryuu-ken!" A blue-white spiral shot from where the dragon silhouette had been collecting energy in front of its mouth. This skill was not elemental in nature and so the effect came in the form of a semi-massive explosion when it connected with the flames coming from the Spirit of Fire. When the smoke had cleared, the Spirit of Fire had vanished as Hao had lost control of his Oversoul out of surprise. Crystal however was standing with a plastic sword in one hand and her necklace in the other while Taki appeared next to in her humanoid form next to Crystal. If Hao summoned the Spirit of Fire again, she wouldn't be able to stand against another attack from it.

_She really must have been going easy on me if she had a skill like that available to her. _Yoh watched in considerable amazement.

"That was impressive, but now you can't even face me at my level," noted Hao. "It was a futile effort at best."

Crystal put her plastic sword back over her shoulder and went about the task of putting her necklace back on. She shrugged as she spoke to Hao again, "I don't know about that. It seems that I've made a pretty good show of it, even if it means that my life will have to be cut short."

"Now wait just a second!" Surprisingly, it was Ren that commented in Crystal's defense. "You can't even protect yourself anymore, let alone anyone else."

Crystal paused to think about that. Her usual light-hearted smile returned to her face, which was a welcome switch from the frustration and anger that had been driving her for the last few minutes. She spoke reassuringly, "This mess is my fault to begin with. It's only natural that I should take responsibility for what is happening. I'll find a way through this though. After all, anything is possible as long as we believe it is."

"Yeah, but didn't you just blow all your power on that last attack?" It was Horohoro's turn to comment.

"Don't worry. Everything will work out." Yoh decided to add his usual words to the conversation.

In that moment Hao realized that Crystal now had the backing of Yoh and his friends. That was something he had not been counting on. After all, how could one of his supporters so effectively gain the trust of Yoh and his friends. _There is no way she can prove that what she's doing isn't simply another part of my elaborate scheme to kill Yoh. Why can they accept her so easily? _Hao was surprised by his own thoughts. He had thought the same thing on several occasions in regard to Crystal's ability to trust him.

Crystal had returned her attention to Hao who seemed to be rather hesitant about summoning the Spirit of Fire again, "So are we going to get back to being friends or do you seriously intend to vaporize me for defending your little brother?"

This caught Hao completely off guard. _How does she get off calling me her friend after I tried to kill her. And it wasn't the first time either!_

"Face it Hao, being a crazy pyromaniac determined to destroy humanity in its entirety doesn't make you an evil person," Crystal continued. "In fact, maybe you're just afraid to let people see your good side because you're afraid of being hurt."

"What would you know about it?!" demanded Hao. He was starting to wonder exactly how Crystal had managed to transform this from a fight between Shamans into a group therapy session.

Crystal shrugged, "I wouldn't know anything about it. I was just making a wild guess, but it sounds like I was right."

Hao thought back to several nights earlier when he had asked Tyriel about Crystal. It occured to him that they might be somehow alike based on certain experiences that could have influenced them in the past. Could that have been the reason why Crystal was able to accept him, regardless of the things he had done that probably would have turned most people against him?

_"She doesn't really like to talk about it anymore, but back when I first met her she was going around asking everyone the same question," explained Tyriel. "Would you rather be considered popular or would you rather be able to trust your friends? I think it was because she has always had to deal with the fact that there are those people who simply don't like her. She seemed surprised when I answered with the latter." Tyriel deliberately paused for a moment to let this information sink in._

"Why couldn't I see it before?" Hao collapsed to his knees with a somewhat pained expression on his face.

"The scars of time run deep, but given a chance even they can heal," replied Crystal with a smile. "You don't have to let your past control you anymore."

Hao stood up slowly, "... I don't know... what else is there?"

"Well, I'm sure you and your brother have a lot of catching up to do. Why not start there?" Crystal suggested helpfully.

Hao thought about it for a second before saying, "I suppose I could give that a try."

Chapter Six, Part Two: Looking to the Future

One Month Later...

Yoh, Ren, Horohoro and Manta with the addition of Hao were all relaxing in the bath/hot spring. After that whole mess had ended, Crystal and Tyriel had left in a hurry because they still had school to contend with and were already at a loss for an explanation for why they had been missing as long as they had been. Hao had found that he quite liked life at Funbari Onsen, even if it meant unintentionally signing up to be ordered around by Anna periodically when there were chores to be done.

"Do you suppose Crystal will come back to visit once she's released for summer break?" Yoh asked no one in particular.

Hao shrugged, "Even if it isn't this summer, I have a feeling we'll see her again."

"You seem pretty sure about that," noted Horohoro.

"She has friends to return to, so she'll come back," replied Hao.

Yoh smiled, "It's nice to have you on our side."

There was a faint sound that quickly got louder until it came off as a well-defined explosion. A circular hole formed in the wall opposite the bath/hot spring as a voice shouted, "Bakusai Tenketsu!" Ryoga stepped through the hole and without even pausing to actually look around he shouted, "Now where am I?!"

There was an exchange of sweatdrops before Horohoro asked, "Isn't that the same guy that was here a month ago looking for some place called the Tendo Dojo?"

"No sense of direction?" commented Hao.

"Like you wouldn't believe," replied Ren.

Having heard the explosion, Anna promptly stormed in on the assembled group. Somehow the appearence of naked teenage boys never seemed to phase her, however the sight of shattered remnants of wall more than made up for it. In a matter of minutes she had poor, lost Ryoga building a new one along with the rest of them.

------------------------

Back in California, Crystal was visiting the waterfall. Since it no longer seemed like it would be necessary to use her powers as a Shaman and Taki had been away for quite some time, they went back to the way things used to be. That meant that Taki performed her role as the spirit of the waterfall and Crystal came to visit from time to time. It was a good system and sometimes Tyriel would tag along.

After Tyriel had explained his part in Hao's elaborate little scheme to use Crystal to weaken Yoh, Crystal had pounded some sense into him using a particularly large phonebook. Whether or not this actually worked was open to debate, but he hadn't done anything of that sort since. This might have also been because there hadn't been another opportunity to pull a stunt like that since that particular day.

In any event, Crystal was on one of her usual visits to the waterfall. One of the things that had changed was that under much insistence from the pyromaniacal waterfall spirit that was Taki, Crystal would frequently be wearing her headphones like Yoh. Crystal didn't particularly care, but Taki insisted that it was a good fashion statement and it completed her look. Crystal sometimes wonder exactly what look Taki was talking about.

"Your parents still mad?" asked Taki.

Crystal shrugged, "How would I know? They don't want to talk about it."

"It's funny to think that the truth is harder to believe than any lie you could possibly come up with," noted Taki.

Crystal raised an eyebrow, "Oh really? I can come up with some pretty unbelieveable stories, you know."

"Like what?" coaxed Taki.

Crystal smirked, "I've been saving that one about the toaster being a certified airline pilot who keeps taking me to Japan for anime merchandise."

"Now that would be interesting," Taki chuckled.

------------------------

A myserious figure lurked in the trees near the waterfall. He was dressed in the attire of a wandering monk and appeared to be rather young for a wandering monk. He was watching Crystal and for some reason she hadn't noticed he was there. He didn't phase in and out of reality every ten seconds, so he must have been masking his energy.

"So, she's the girl who managed to make Hao the way he is now? Very interesting."

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Tyriel marched down the length of the creek along with Midnight. He was stalking a poor, defenseless little squirrel. He stepped on a particularly dry branch causing it to snap and the squirrel darted up the nearest tree.

"Drat," Tyriel muttered under his breath. "There goes lunch."

_Is this boy absolutely sure he's supposed to be human? _Midnight simply shook his head watching Tyriel.

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From several vantage points around the globe, the young Shamans turned their attention to the stars. It was a quiet night and everything seemed in place. Only time would tell how long that would last.

The End... Or Is It?

* * *

A Word From the Characters

Manta: That was a strange and unexpected conclusion.

Lyserg: Hao is STAYING at Funbari Onsen?!

Ren: I wonder more about Horohoro. I drop by to visit and it seems like he never leaves.

Taki: (absently dangles a cookie in front of Horohoro)

Horohoro: (dives for it and crashes into a tree, joining the unconscious Yoh, Hao and Crystal)

Ren: Idiot.

Taki: And since Crystal is still unable to do this... the insane authoress feels more inspired to write when she gets reviews, the sillier the better. Threats from Anna usually work too... speaking of which, where IS Anna?

* * *

A Look At What's to Come

With Hao no longer acting as a threat against all of humanity it seems like things can only keep getting better. Two years pass and then out of the blue a mysterious Shaman known only as Hex appears claiming to be the guy who defeated Hao a thousand years ago. Whether or not that is the case, Hex is clearly powerful and he has his own vision of the future.

Can our heroes stop this lunatic bent on world domination? Only the upcoming chapters will reveal the answer!


	8. Prologue 2

Disclaimer: Shaman King and its characters belong to Hiroyuki Takei, not me. Inuyasha and its characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi.

Author's Notes: At this point in time I have seen the entire Shaman King anime in Japanese with English subtitles and scattered episodes of the dubbed first season. I have read the first four volumes of the English manga and await the release of volume 5. I have visited countless spoiler sites and a lot of the information just doesn't agree from site to site. Most of my background information is based on the manga, such as the fact that the official start of the Shaman Fight was January 1, 1999. The rest of the information, such as the outcome of the Shaman Fight, is based on the anime. The reason behind this is mostly because my mind organized the information that way and it just seems to fit in well with my plans for this fanfic.

WARNING! There be spoilers ahead!

* * *

In Response to Reviews

To Black Dragon: The voice of England, huh? Lyserg do you get it?

Lyserg: (sweatdrops)

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To Zetsumei: I'll take that as a compliment coming from you. And yes, you are indeed the monk in question.

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To SailorLoneStar: I was making an effort to keep Hao in character until such time that he actually got some sense knocked into him.

Crystal: (is glomped) I'm starting to wonder exactly how long I'm going to be kept under this tree.

Hao: (is also glomped) It just goes to show that I have more fangirls than Yoh.

* * *

The Original Characters

Shiva

Age 17

Birthday: April 19, 1985

Star Sign: Aries

Blood Type: Unknown 

Details: A lustful, food devouring monk that has recently become affiliated with Patch Village. Not much is known about him except that he would seem to be a descendant of Miroku and Sango. He also happens to be one of Crystal's friends at her High School, although she doesn't know about him being a monk... yet. Shiva, like other characters is based on one of my real friends.

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Character Age List 2002

14: Tyriel

15: Pirika, Mari

16: Manta, Ren, Lyserg, Horohoro, Tamao, Chocolove, Macchi, Crystal

17: Yoh, Hao, Anna

21: Jun

22: Ryu

24: Kanna

30: Silva, Karim

36: Faust VIII

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Prologue Five: Crystal's Oracle Bell

June 2002...

It had been Crystal's last day of school and now she was walking home from the bus stop. Her plan was to stop off for a quick snack and then take a little hike up to the waterfall to pay Taki a visit. The weather only managed to emphasize the fact that it was now officially summer vacation.

When she finally arrived at the waterfall, she was surprised to see her friend Shiva apparently waiting for her. She knew him as a food bandit and the sort of guy who would try to hit on any girl if he had the opportunity. She had never seen him in the attire of a monk before and was relatively certain she hadn't revealed the location of the waterfall to him. In her confusion, all she could do was stare in wonder.

"Sorry to surprise you," Shiva spoke politely. "I was told to test you."

Crystal raised an eyebrow looking down to Shiva from the top of the waterfall, "Test me?"

"Yes," replied Shiva. He reached into some random pocket and held out an electric blue Oracle Bell, "For this."

Crystal had learned about the Oracle Bells from Hao before the Shaman Fight. She dropped down from the top of the water, standing on the surface of the water in the shallow pool that made up the base of the waterfall. This didn't seem to make sense because the Shaman Fight had been over with for a considerable length of time and it just struck her as strange that Shiva seemed to have something to do with Patch Village. Again, she hadn't actually been there, but Hao had explained it to her.

"What's going on? I thought the Shaman Fight was over."

Shiva nodded, "It is. I'm here to test you, to see if you will be capable of helping your friends in the near future. An ominous force is coming. The Oracle Bell will connect you to the activities of your friends in Tokyo."

Crystal cast her confusion aside and settled for an amused look, "I guess I have no choice, but to accept this story as the truth. It's a little perplexing, but what is this test?"

Shiva grinned, "All you have to do is hit me once in ten minutes. Considering you were trained by Hao, I suspect you already know how to use your Oversoul."

Crystal nodded as she removed the dragon pendant from around her neck and held it out in front of her with one hand, still standing easily on the surface of the water. She looked around and called out, "Taki, whenever you're ready."

"As always," Taki materialized next to Crystal and quickly took on the form of a Spirit Flame.

Crystal took over from there, "Taki into the Dragon Pendant!" Her Oversoul at this time took on the form of a sword with a blade that looked rather like a dragon wing, which was in turn made of flames. Within a matter of seconds, Crystal had made a vertical slash in the air directing her Burning Wind Slash at Shiva who hadn't made any effort to move. The crescent blade of fire seemed to land its mark.

"Yoen-Uindo Surasshu!"

The dust settled and it turned out that Shiva had blocked the attack with what appeared to be an ordinary wooden bo-staff. Shiva smiled admiring her attack, "That was an excellent technique, but rest assured a half-hearted attack has no chance of striking me."

"Is that so? Then I guess I better get serious," Crystal smirked faintly as she began channeling her Furyoku into her Oversoul without actually changing the size or shape in the process. She held out the sword horizontally in front of her and gave Shiva a warning look, "Just remember, you asked for this." She slashed the air in front of her causing a blade of wind to form along the curve of the blade, "Kaze-ken Dageki!" The nature of this Windblade Strike was that the windblade remained totally invisible to sight, but the damage it could do all depended on how much power she put behind it.

Shiva stood his ground and blinked in surprise when his bo-staff suddenly split in half and he was struck in the midsection by the attack. He was knocked into a tree located behind him and remained stunned for several moments before getting up again. He stared disbelievingly at Crystal, "You actually hit me!"

"You said that was what I had to do," replied Crystal indifferently, resting her Oversoul sword on one shoulder.

Shiva nodded, "I didn't think you'd actually go through with it, but I under-estimated you." He tossed the Oracle Bell over to her, "We'll have to spar again sometime." With that he immediately vanished from the vicinity of the waterfall.

Crystal caught the Oracle Bell in her free hand as she also released her Oversoul. That had been an unexpected turn of events. Taki manifested in her humanoid form and watched as Crystal attached the Oracle Bell to her right arm. It had been two years since either of them had been involved in anything Shaman related.

"Well that was weird," noted Taki.

"Very," agreed Crystal. She was concerned about the ominous cloud that Shiva had mentioned.

Prologue Six: A Shaman Called Hex

July 2002...

Several weeks passed before Crystal made a return trip to the waterfall. Although it was summer, she had her backpack with her and the old plastic sword attached to her belt. Her plan was to meet up with Taki and return to Funbari Onsen to visit her friends there. She could stay the entire summer if she wanted to, because her family was presently under the belief that she was going to sleep away camp.

As she took the detour from the trail down into the creek where she would travel downstream to reach the waterfall, she was struck with a terrible sensation of dread. This was a feeling she was not familiar with because it was the first time it had come over her. She shrugged it off and continued on her way to the waterfall, although the feeling persisted.

There was someone else there. She dropped down from the top of the waterfall, coming to stand on the surface of the water that collected at the base, to investigate this stranger. He appeared to be several years older than her. She would have asked him what he was doing there, but another wave of dread swept over her. She collapsed to her knees, no longer able to remain standing on the surface of the water.

"You must be Crystal," the boy spoke in a cold and ruthless voice.

The malicious emotional energy that he rated caused Crystal to become completely stunned. She absolutely could not bring her body to move from where she was kneeling in the water at the base of the waterfall. She could still move her mouth though. Since she didn't seem to have much choice in the matter, she answered him.

"Who are you and how do you know who I am?"

The boy smirked at her obvious discomfort, "My name is Hex. I'm a Shaman." He added with a more cocky tone, "I have a little score to settle with Asakura Hao. I need to borrow your body."

"Huh?" Crystal stared back at him with a mix of fear and disbelief.

Hex seemed to smile, "It won't hurt a bit. Of course, you might feel a little strange afterward, but that really isn't my problem."

A fresh wave of that malicious emotional energy caused Crystal to collapse altogether as it felt like a thousand tiny knives were stabbing her from all directions. Her consciousness fading from the pain, she tried to will her body to stand up. She still couldn't move. Hex approached her with a spirit ward in hand. He attached it to the back of her tank-top so it would be easily hidden from view under her hair.

Hex easily lifted Crystal's limp body from the water and slung it over his shoulder. He glanced to the girl's unconscious spirit still collapsed in the water and smirked, "You'd do well to stay out of my way." With that he vanished into the sky, apparently materializing a pair of black, feathery, demonic wings.

Prologue Seven: Attack on Funbari Onsen

"Hao get down from there! It's your turn to do the shopping!"

Hao was laying on the roof watching the clouds pass overhead. Instead of his old cloak, he had taken to the same kind of open, button up shirts as Yoh. He seemed to have storehouse of those pants of his and as such still made a point of wearing them. His hair was just as long as ever and his earrings were still present as well. His gloves and lego-style boots were not.

Upon hearing the voice he sat up and slid over to the edge of the roof to look down at whoever was shouting at him. As he had suspected, the person in question was Anna. With that in mind, he dropped down from the roof and landed lightly in front of her with a perfectly innocent smile on his face.

"I thought it was Yoh's turn to do the shopping."

Anna looked back at him indifferently, "Well you thought wrong. Now get going."

"Of course, Anna." With that Hao made his way into the building that was Funbari Onsen. As he stepped out the main entrance he slipped into a pair of sandals, casting a brief glance to his lego-style boots. Those would not be necessary for a task as simple as going to the store.

------------------------

When Hao returned he set about putting the groceries away responsibly, so as to make sure Anna wouldn't have an excuse to bother him again. As he made his way to the backyard again he was surprised to see Yoh greeting a visitor who wasn't Horohoro. Yoh seemed to notice him standing in the doorway and waved him over, "Guess who finally decided to drop by for a visit."

Hao didn't need to guess. Something seemed rather strange about Crystal, but he couldn't quite place it until a stranger's thoughts revealed themselves to his mind. _Now that Hao is here, there's no reason to keep up this act. I better get this over with and finish him off while he doesn't suspect anything. _Hao shouted at Yoh, "Stay away from her! That isn't Crystal!"

Yoh blinked in confusion, "What do you mean she isn't Crystal?" Yoh could barely believe the scene that played out in front of his eyes. Crystal's hand immediately reached for her plastic sword and within seconds she had slashed horizontally at Hao. Several more seconds passed as some kind of unseen force knocked Hao backwards through the doorway to crash into a very surprised Horohoro who had been sprawled out on the couch.

"Just as I thought. This body still remembers the skills of the spirit that originally resided within it," the voice that spoke through the shell that had been Crystal's body was dark and cruel, clearly not Crystal's voice.

Hao had recovered from his little flight and stepped outside again. Horohoro stepped out after him, snowboard at the ready. Yoh looked back to Crystal, then over to Hao and Horohoro looking totally at a loss as to what the heck was going on. He was snapped out of his confused thoughts as Anna tossed Harusame over to him from the doorway. He caught the sword and moved to join Hao and Horohoro, "I guess there really isn't much choice except to fight first and ask questions later."

Prologue Eight: When in Doubt, Find a Way

_What happened to me? Why do I feel so light? _Crystal's forcefully removed spirit was propped against a tree as Taki, in her humanoid form, watched over her with a concerned expression. She had seen the whole thing and had been unable to do nothing. This was going to come as a shock to the poor girl and Taki didn't particularly want to be the bearer of bad news.

Vague images flashed through Crystal's jumbled semi-consciousness. She saw herself sitting alone on a bench on the playground when she was eight years old. She had tried to fit in with her classmates, but in the end she had been left to her own devices. She saw herself a year later on a different playground surrounded by other children. This was the time when she had found her place among those who were a year younger than her. Then she saw herself at age ten surrounded by more children. This was when the game group had been at its peak with herself and her friends who were a year or two younger than her. Then she saw an image of herself encountering Hao at the waterfall for the first time.

_That's right! That guy is after Hao! _Crystal's eyes snapped open. She made a move to get up, still unaware of the severe lack of her physical body. She noticed that Taki was looking at her in concern and blinked, "What's the matter Taki? We need to warn Hao about that guy."

Taki frowned slightly. This was going to be incredibly difficult to explain in words. Then an idea occurred to her, "Try waving your hand in front of your face."

Crystal was surprised by Taki's comment, but she did as Taki had suggested anyway. She stopped her hand in front of her face and stared through it. She performed a double-take. Yes, she could most certainly see through her hand. She lowered her hand as realization suddenly dawned on her, "I'm a ghost... right?"

"In a matter of speaking," replied Taki hurriedly. "That guy didn't actually kill you, so your body is still technically alive... you're just not in it."

Crystal raised an eyebrow, "In that case, I'd like to go retrieve my body. I have a feeling we'll find it where Hao is, at Funbari Onsen."

"Wait a second. You've only just become a ghost and now you're wanting to try flying to Japan? Do you even know the way there?" Taki couldn't believe how well Crystal was taking this situation.

Crystal smiled, "I was hoping you'd come with me."

"You want me to come with you? I couldn't even do anything to protect you from that guy and you still want me to come with you?" Taki went from frightened to surprised.

Crystal nodded, "I have a plan that should work. However, I'm going to need your cooperation to pull it off."

"Alright then. We're off to Funbari Onsen to get your body back and warn Hao about a potential assassin who can make you completely helpless. Just another of your crazy adventures, right?" Taki still couldn't believe the way Crystal was taking things.

Crystal shrugged, "I never said it was going to be easy."

To Be Continued...

* * *

A Word From the Characters

Manta: Does anyone else find this whole mess a little creepy?

Lyserg: Just who is this guy Hex anyway?  
  
Ren: Wouldn't we all like to know...

Taki: (dangles a Hao voodoo doll in front of Lyserg)

Lyserg: (dives for it and crashes into a tree, joining the other unconscious cast members)

Ren: I wonder which will run out first, our supply of cast members or Taki's collection of random objects to distract them with.

Taki: As always, the insane authoress feels more inspired to write when she gets reviews, the sillier the better.


	9. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Shaman King and its characters belong to Hiroyuki Takei, not me.

Author's Notes: At this point in time I have seen the entire Shaman King anime in Japanese with English subtitles and scattered episodes of the dubbed first season. I have read the first four volumes of the English manga and await the release of volume 5. I have visited countless spoiler sites and a lot of the information just doesn't agree from site to site. Most of my background information is based on the manga, such as the fact that the official start of the Shaman Fight was January 1, 1999. The rest of the information, such as the outcome of the Shaman Fight, is based on the anime. The reason behind this is mostly because my mind organized the information that way and it just seems to fit in well with my plans for this fanfic.

WARNING! There be spoilers ahead!

* * *

In Response to Reviews

To SailorLoneStar: The reason I called that chapter a second prologue as opposed to a real chapter is because it was intended to set things up for the start of the next arc of the story, which officially begins this chapter.

Hao: I might not attack her, but I happen to know that Anna seems to have a talent for persuasion.

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To Black Dragon: Taki can't move that fast with a physical body. Since she and Crystal are presently free of that little complication, making it to Japan quickly is a simple matter.

* * *

The Original Characters

Hex

Age 19

Birthday: Unknown

Star Sign: Unknown 

Blood Type: Unknown

Details: All that is known about him is that he is an incredibly powerful Shaman who is determined to take over the world. Even without trying to attain the powers of the Great Spirit, his spirit partner could be plenty to accomplish his goal. However, Hex appears to have unfinished business with Hao and seems more interested in dealing with him first. Hex is a character created and based on my younger brother.

* * *

Chapter Seven, Part One: Unconquered Determination

The fight was beginning to seem a little one-sided. This was primarily because Crystal was the one that was doing all the attacking while Yoh, Horohoro and Hao were constantly on the defensive. Something had to be done to stop Crystal, but there was still the question of exactly what could be done.

"We need to break the control of whoever is manipulating her," Hao spoke as though this would be an easy task.

"And just what do you have in mind for figuring out who is behind this?" asked Yoh.

Hao sweatdropped, "I never said it was a perfect plan."

"You know guys... if I stop her from moving, she shouldn't be able to attack us for a little while," noted Horohoro.

"Make with the ice then," suggested Hao.

Once Crystal was frozen in place, the three boys were able to start thinking more about who was behind this attack. The skills she had used as well as the nature of her fighting style were the same as they had been two years ago. By all accounts it seemed like Crystal really was launching the attack, except that the Crystal they all knew would not be trying to bring harm to them.

"You two can take over from here. I don't have anymore ideas," said Horohoro.

Hao frowned, "This would be a lot easier if we knew who was controlling her."

"I wouldn't mind knowing why they are using her to attack us," commented Yoh.

There was an audible cracking sound as the ice surrounding Crystal shattered. In the past few seconds flames had surrounded the blade of her plastic sword and she had managed to free herself from her prison. She appeared to be ready to go on the offensive again.

"I almost forgot that she was that good at manipulating fire," commented Hao.

"Now is not the time to be impressed!" exclaimed Yoh and Horohoro together.

"Chuuka Zanmai!" All eyes turned to the source of the new voice as Ren descended from the general area of the roof. He was targeting Crystal's weapon with such precision, that within a few more seconds the plastic blade had been sliced cleanly into several dozen pieces. The handle, now completely useless, remained in Crystal's hand. He landed easily near where the others had assembled, "Care to explain what is going on here?"

Yoh answered based on what he knew, "It would appear that someone else is in control of Crystal's body. Of course, now that she doesn't have a weapon it should be easier make her normal again."

"You'd like it if it was that easy." A stranger's voice spoke from Crystal's mouth.

Crystal's voice came from up in a nearby tree, "Isn't it though? You've been in my body long enough... get out now, or I'll just have to dive in there and pound you out."

"Now I'm confused," Horohoro looked between the place where Crystal's body was standing and the transparent figure of the girl in the tree. "If Crystal isn't in her body, then who the heck is?!"

_Hao, if you would kindly vaporize that spirit ward on my back... I can take care of the rest. _Hao was surprised to hear Crystal's voice inside his head, as he normally was unable to read her thoughts. Apparently if she let him, he could read her thoughts. It took a few more seconds for Hao to cause the spirit ward that had been on Crystal's back to burst into flames, quickly dismantling the barrier that was keeping Crystal's spirit out of her physical body.

The transparent version of Crystal in the tree, literally dived down from the branch she had been standing on and dived into the solid one standing in the middle of the backyard of Funbari Onsen. Several moments slipped by in silence as Crystal regained dominance over the control of her own body.

"Taki! Now!" Taki, who also descended from the treebranch, took on the form of a spirit flame. She moved into a ready position in Crystal's waiting hand, "Spirittou Ball! Hyoi Gattai!" Crystal brought the spirit flame inside her body, which immediately collapsed. The strain from having three spirits inside had obviously won out.

Yoh stared in shock, "What in the world is she thinking?"

"She seemed to have a plan in mind," replied Hao. "I'm not worried."

"Does anyone actually know what's going on here?" demanded Ren.

Horohoro shook his head, "Not in the least."

Several more minutes passed in silence. Then a rather dazed looking half angel, half devil ghost was sent flying from Crystal's body. Crystal stood up, taking off her headphones and gripping the cable in one hand. She made a horizontal motion with the headset, improvising her weapon to use the Windblade Strike.

"Kaze-ken Dageki!"

Hex emerged from where he had been hidden behind the tree, catching the seemingly invisible windblade in one hand with a dangerous grin on his face. He sent the attack back at Crystal, only to see it blocked by Horohoro's ice shield. Crystal looked back at him defiantly, "... Hex was it? Don't expect the same trick to work on me twice. I won't permit you to use my body to hurt my friends anymore." Having exhausted herself from the effort, Crystal collapsed into unconsciousness.

"This one could prove to be an interesting opponent," Hex commented to the half angel, half devil ghost that had finally recovered from the beating he had taken inside of Crystal's subconscious. "I suppose we'll let her live for now."

Yoh stood defensively in front of where Crystal had collapsed along with Horohoro, "She said your name is Hex... just what are you trying to pull here?"

"Why don't you ask your brother? I have better things to do than to explain my motives to a little goody-goody like you," replied Hex indifferently. "I will tell you one thing though... I beat Hao 1000 years ago and nothing will get in my way of taking over this pathetic excuse for a world." The half angel, half devil ghost seemed to disappear as Hex manifested his frightening pair of feathery, demonic wings and took to the sky. He vanished beyond the horizon before anyone had a chance to stop him.

Chapter Seven, Part Two: Okamiryuu

Crystal opened her eyes to find herself in a room inside of Funbari Onsen. She pulled her right hand out from under the blanket that was over her and stared at it for a moment before resting it at her side. Her plan had been a success and she had gotten her body back. That certainly seemed like a good sign.

"You're finally awake." Hao was sitting cross-legged on the floor several feet away from her, apparently watching over her. "Are you feeling ok?"

Crystal attempted to sit up and winced, "Aside from the headache and the fact that it hurts to move, I guess I'm fine. How long was I out?"

"Two days," answered Hao. "It's amazing you're conscious this soon after that ordeal."

A hollow laugh escaped Crystal, "If I hadn't been totally overwhelmed by that guy's malicious emotional energy... it wouldn't have happened that way."

"It's ok. You can't expect to be prepared for every situation life faces you with," replied Hao reassuringly. It had been two years since he had seen Crystal. Many things had changed in that time, but it had been her continued belief that he was a good person that had finally shown him that he could come to terms with his own humanity. "Anyway, it's nice to have you back."

Crystal managed her usual smile, "It's good to be back."

------------------------

On the third day, Crystal was back to her old self. She and the others were assembled in the living room of Funbari Onsen to discuss what they knew about what had happened. Ren had made a point of staying, saying that he wouldn't leave until someone told him what was happening.

"Where shall I begin?" Hao asked the assembled group.

Horohoro suggested, "Why don't you start by telling us who this guy, Hex, is. Then you can explain why he wanted to attack you using Crystal's body as an Oversoul."

"We already know that the lunatic plans on taking over the world," said Yoh.

Ren smirked, "As if he could possibly succeed." 

"He certainly had me at a huge disadvantage," grumbled Crystal. She was still frustrated with having been completely helpless like that in the face of an enemy who was threatening the life of one of her friends. That feeling didn't rest too well with her.

Hao frowned, "I do vaguely remember fighting someone named Hex 1000 years ago. He didn't have the same spirit partner as the guy who attacked us three days ago, but then again I didn't have the Spirit of Fire back then either."

"Did he seriously defeat you?" asked Yoh.

Hao shrugged, "He had me at a disadvantage and left me to be finished off by the Asakura family. My guess is that he was some kind of mercenary at that time."

"And his reason for attacking you with Crystal's body?" asked Horohoro.

"You heard what he said. The guy is after world domination. He probably thinks a Shaman as powerful as me will get in his way in the future. He probably figured it would effect me more to be attacked by a friend," replied Hao in a bitter tone.

Ren raised an eyebrow, "How exactly did you know Crystal wasn't in control of her body?"

"I can't normally read her mind," answered Hao.

"Unless I allow him to," added Crystal.

Hao continued, "The thoughts I heard where Crystal's blocked consciousness should have been, belonged to Hex's spirit partner."

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"You have a lot to accomplish today, so it's time to get up."

Crystal heard Anna's voice from the doorway and sat up rubbing the sleep from her eyes, "Out of curiousity... what time is it?"

"5:00 a.m. Is that a problem?" replied Anna.

Crystal shook her head. "Not really, no. What exactly do you want me to do anyway?"

"I have some special training for you. You might want to change into some clothes you don't mind getting sweaty," answered Anna.

------------------------

Crystal stood leaning against the tree in the backyard as Anna explained what she was expected to do. She had changed from her normal pajamas to a pair of blue jeans and a black tank-top. Crystal didn't really mind being awake so early, but she was still curious about what kind of training Anna had in mind for her.

"You're going to learn how to summon Shikigami," Anna stated simply.

Crystal blinked, "You want me to master that in a day?"

"That's the plan," replied Anna. "You already have remarkable control over your spiritual powers, so this should be easy. I know for a fact that there is a massive well of Furyoku available to you, but as long as Taki remains your choice of spirit partners, you'll never be able to use it to its full potential."

Takikoneko appeared and spoke indignantly to Anna, "Are you calling me weak?"

"You aren't a fighting class spirit, therefore you are practically useless in a real combat situation," replied Anna indifferently.

Takikoneko scowled at Anna before turning on her heel and stalking off toward the Inn to join Hao on the roof. That was one distraction out of the way, nevermind what Hao was doing awake at this time or why he was on the roof.

"So, basically... I need to pick a suitable medium and a physical manifestation for my spiritual energy?" asked Crystal suddenly.

Anna nodded, "You catch on fast."

"I've been wanting to try this for a while," replied Crystal. Her focus shifted to the droplets of water that had collected on the grass in the yard during the night. About a minute later, there was a creature that looked like a mix between a wolf and dragon taking up a considerable portion of the backyard. It had blue-white fur that almost seemed to glow in the light from the sunrise. Crystal grinned, "I call it Okamiryuu."

Anna honestly looked surprised for a moment before she found her voice again. "In that case, you'll keep working on this until you can summon your Okamiryuu in less than ten seconds."

Crystal facevaulted. "... understood."

To Be Continued...

* * *

A Word From the Characters

Taki: (dangles a container of industrial strength hair gel in front of Ren)

Ren: (points his Kwan Dao threateningly at Taki) Did you honestly expect that to work on me?

Taki: Um... yes?

Ren: You thought wrong. Chuuka Zanmai!

Taki: Eek! (runs)

Manta: While Taki is busy running away from Ren, I guess I'll manage things here. The insane authoress feels more inspired to write when she gets reviews, the sillier the better.


	10. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Shaman King and its characters belong to Hiroyuki Takei, not me. No Need for Tenchi and its characters belong to Hitoshi Okuda.

Author's Notes: At this point in time I have seen the entire Shaman King anime in Japanese with English subtitles and scattered episodes of the dubbed first season. I have read the first four volumes of the English manga and await the release of volume 5. I have visited countless spoiler sites and a lot of the information just doesn't agree from site to site. Most of my background information is based on the manga, such as the fact that the official start of the Shaman Fight was January 1, 1999. The rest of the information, such as the outcome of the Shaman Fight, is based on the anime. The reason behind this is mostly because my mind organized the information that way and it just seems to fit in well with my plans for this fanfic.

WARNING! There be spoilers ahead!

* * *

Chapter Eight, Part One: The Stargazing Spot

It had been a week since Hex had appeared and launched his attack on the residents of Funbari Onsen. Since then, Anna had enforced her special training on anyone who decided to continue staying at her Inn. Horohoro had decided to return to Hokkaido claiming that he would be able to train at his own pace as long as Pirika didn't find out about Hex. Ren would drop by the Inn daily to visit Yoh and whoever else happened to be present. There had been no sign of Hex since the first attack, so no one really knew when he would strike again.

Because Hao had disappeared into the city for the night, it was left to Yoh and Crystal along with their respective partner spirits to do the evening shopping. What Hao was busy doing in the city was anyone's guess. Since he hadn't been a threat for the last two years, no one really questioned what it was that he was doing.

"Why does Hao always manage to escape when it's supposed to be his turn to do the shopping?" Yoh wasn't actually asking anyone in particular.

Crystal shrugged before she added her own thoughts to that same question, "Why did Anna send both of us if it was simply Hao's turn to do the shopping?"

Yoh hadn't really thought about it. He looked at the slip of paper that Anna had given to him as a shopping list. It seemed the same as usual until he unfolded it at which point he promptly collapsed onto the pavement. Crystal stopped walking and looked down at him with a thoroughly puzzled expression. Yoh recovered, still sweatdropping.

"The list is twice as long as it usually is. I think Anna expects me to do the cooking tonight."

"All's fair in love and war," chirped Takikoneko.

"Huh?!" Yoh stared at Taki in obvious confusion.

"Nothing," replied Taki hurriedly.

Crystal sweatdropped. "It isn't Yoh's fault that Hao is a better cook. Considering Hao has a thousand years of experience to work with, it isn't all that surprising really."

"Crystal does bring up a valid point," agreed Amidamaru.

------------------------

"Did any of you feel that?" asked Crystal several minutes later as they had continued on the way to the store.

"Feel what?" asked Yoh.

Crystal shook her head. "I guess it was just my imagination." Immediately afterward, she blinked and started looking around. "No, I'm sure I just felt it again... it's coming from over there!" With that she took off in the direction of whatever it was that seemed to be calling out to her.

"Maybe Anna's training is starting to get to her," suggested Yoh.

"Shouldn't we go after her?" asked Amidamaru.

------------------------

Several minutes later the group found themselves in an undeveloped little area that was actually very close to Funbari Onsen. There was a large grass field with a river running down the center with trees spread out on either side. The area was large enough that the lights from the city did not influence the view of the night sky, and that sky was full of stars.

"Wow," commented Yoh. He couldn't really think of anything else to say under the present circumstances.

"I guess it was this place that was calling out to me," Crystal finally concluded. She had already started for one of the trees along the river. She sprawled out on the grass with her arms folded behind her head and looked up at the star filled sky. "The view here is great."

Yoh shrugged and settled under the tree as he normally would have up at the Funbari Hill Cemetery. His attention also went to the stars. "This could be a good place to relax after the training Anna keeps putting us through."

"Aren't we supposed to be going to the store?" asked Taki.

"We can spare a few minutes to stargaze," replied Yoh with his usual carefree smile.

------------------------

Of course, when one decides to become side-tracked it is a good idea to keep track of exactly how much time has gone by. Those few minutes somehow became a good two hours of stargazing at which point the entire group had completely forgotten that they were supposed to have gone to the store and returned to Funbari Onsen already. It would have been fine if Anna hadn't gotten fed up with waiting and come out to look for them.

"Just what do all of you think you're doing?!"

"Uh, stargazing," supplied Yoh in a sleepy tone.

Taki took cover behind Crystal. "Uh-oh, Anna looks mad."

"I thought I told you to do the evening shopping. I've been waiting two hours and when you didn't come back I thought Hex might have attacked again!" Anna sounded angry.

Crystal sweatdropped. "No need to worry. We just lost track of time is all."

"See to it that this doesn't happen again." Anna stalked off in the direction of Funbari Onsen.

"We should hurry up with that shopping Yoh-Dono," noted Amidamaru.

Yoh was already on his feet. "Good idea."

Chapter Eight, Part Two: Misadventure in Okayama

August 2002...

"Two seconds to summon five Okamiryuu. You should be able to hold your own against other Shamans without relying on an Oversoul now."

Crystal called off her assembled Shikigami and added, "You might not have noticed, but I didn't just summon five of them... I gave each of them a different dominant elemental to work with."

"I don't think there's any training I can up with that will help you anymore. You'll have to come up with something yourself," replied Anna.

Taki dropped down from a nearby tree in her humanoid form looking rather annoyed. "So what I'm hearing is that you don't need my help anymore? If that's how you feel, say no more... I'm leaving." With that she transformed into her kitten form and flew off.

"Taki! That's not what Anna meant!" Crystal called after the departing pyromaniacal waterfall spirit. She hurriedly summoned another Okamiryuu and prepared to climb on its back when a voice from behind her caught her attention.

"You're still worn out from training this morning. Do you really think you can catch up with her at the rate she was going?" asked Hao.

Crystal turned around to face him. "I have to try."

"I can help," Hao volunteered. "Spirit of Fire!" And so it was that Hao summoned the giant flaming ghost to fly himself and Crystal after the retreating form of Takikoneko, not aware of where the pyromaniacal waterfall spirit was headed.

------------------------

"That's odd," noted Crystal. "I'd have thought she would go back to the waterfall in California, but that doesn't appear to be a case."

Hao looked down at the landscape bellow and spotted a sign that might have been able to explain what exactly Taki was trying to accomplish. "The Masaki Shrine... well, I guess that makes some kind of sense considering she is a spirit."

"We better land and start asking if anyone has seen her around here," suggested Crystal.

------------------------

Tenchi was kind enough to lead Crystal and Hao inside where there had apparently been sightings of the pyromaniacal waterfall spirit that they were trying to track down. The fact that this meant entering the lab of the greatest scientific genius in the universe, Washu, was purely coincidental... or so they thought.

"Hao!" There was a brief silence following the shout that could have only come from Taki. Then Hao was pinned to the floor by a very pleased looking girl with cat-like ears, who looked rather like Taki's humanoid form. The difference was obvious. Somehow Taki had gained a physical body.

Washu appeared from behind the scenes. "It would appear that the experiment was a success."

"Experiment?" Crystal wondered out loud.

Hao calmly removed Taki from his person, "It's nice to see that you're in a better mood. A warning would be nice the next time you decide to do that."

"It was simple really. She requested a shape-shifting body appropriate for a spirit such as herself and I simply ran some scans before providing her with the perfect body. The catch is that she's stuck with it now," explained Washu.

Taki grinned, "I can assure you that I won't be complaining about that."

------------------------

As they emerged from the lab, Taki shouted up at Ryoko who was in her usual spot sitting among the ceiling beams drinking sake. "Hiya, I'm your new sister!"

Ryoko looked surprised for a moment. Then she snatched Tenchi from the other room and dragged him over before speaking authoritatively. "You see this guy, Tenchi? He's mine, ya got that?"

Taki nodded before attaching herself to Hao's arm, "This one is mine."

"Huh?" Hao and Tenchi blinked in unison.

As Crystal, Hao and Taki departed a dust cloud formed behind them. Within this cloud, Ayeka was attempting to educate Ryoko that she would be the one to win Tenchi's heart. There was an exchange of sweatdrops.

"Taki, what possessed you to do this?" asked Hao.

Taki shrugged, "I was bored of being a spirit without anything to do, so I decided it might be fun to join the rest of you in the land of fleshiness."

"I see," Hao sweatdropped.

Chapter Eight, Part Three: At the Buffet

September 2002...

Taki rushed toward the mall after learning from Hao that Crystal was apparently teaching Ren and Horohoro how to play DDR without having told anyone in advance. She would have to explain to Crystal that she did not approve of secrets like this. If she was doing something this amusing, Taki should have been the first one to find out. It was a shock that Hao knew about it before her.

When Taki arrived at the arcade in the mall, she started to overhear the middle of a conversation that had started only a few minutes earlier. Shifting into her kitten form, she made herself comfortable under the DDR machine and continued to listen.

"If I have money to waste at the arcade, I can pay for a trip to the buffet... which is allowed because Shiva isn't stalking me today." Crystal was talking to Horohoro.

Horohoro spoke to Ren mockingly, "Just because you stink at it, doesn't make it evil." Not paying attention to Crystal, he added, "Say buddy, do you have any extra money on you?"

Crystal sweatdropped at Horohoro, "I said I'd cover it." She started walking toward the buffet, waving for Ren and Horohoro to follow her. "Well then, since we're all hungry... let's eat!"

Horohoro grinned at Ren, "Race ya there!" He shot him a coy look. "Unless you're scared."

The anger vein was instantly in effect, throbbing as Ren raised his fist warningly. "Oi..." He started, but was distracted by the mention of food. Huffing, he walked away from Horohoro, following grumpily toward the buffet. He stopped as Horohoro spoke, his eyes instantly narrowed. "Race...? Che! You'd lose."

Horohoro frowned, "I wouldn't lose, you'd lose you big... loser!" Then he realized Ren was ahead of him and ran to catch up.

Smirking, Ren waited for Horohoro to run past and slipped his leg out to trip the other boy. "Why that little..." Horohoro muttered angrily as he got back up, his fists clenched. "Emphasis on little!" Ren continued at the same calm pace and reached the buffet, gloating somewhat at his victory.

Ren grumbled as he looked over the buffet line, grumpy as ever. "... No Chinese food..." Being hungry, he picked up a plate and upon hearing Horohoro, threw the plate at him. Horohoro dodged it, sticking out his tongue goofily before running up to the buffet.

"What's the matter? Wittle Ren wants his mommy's cooking?" Horohoro smirked at him and grabbed a plate.

Crystal simply sighed as she entered the buffet. She quickly payed for herself as well as Ren and Horohoro, still not aware that Taki was following them. She set the receipt on at a table and then walked over to the buffet. She picked up a plate and began piling food onto it, all the while wondering why all the guys she knew liked to fight with each other.

Ren growled. "Shut up!" He began dishing something completely random onto his plate. He sat down at the table, his pointy cowlick wiggling in anger. Horohoro snickered and heaped as much food as he could get on the plate. Then he also took a seat at the table. Crystal simply shook her head, took her spot at the table, and started eating. She knew it wasn't possible to stop the two of them once they got started, so she wasn't about to waste her energy trying. She was still wondering why there was an English DDR machine in Tokyo when she was used to the Japanese ones in California.

Horohoro started shoveling food into his mouth at a rapid pace. When he noticed that Ren wasn't keep up with him, he started snatching food off of the Chinese Shaman's plate. Ren looked at his plate distastefully. He grumbled and eventually picked up his eating utensils. The anger vein appeared once more as Horohoro started grabbing his food. He turned and growled again. "It's a buffet you moron! Go get something from there!" He shouted as he poked Horohoro in the forehead with his cowlick-from-hell.

Takikoneko neatly flomped onto the table, acting for all the world like she belonged there as a center piece. As she watched Horohoro start stealing Ren's food, she grabbed the nearest ownerless fork and stabbed it into the table. She left it wriggling in the wood. "Be nice or I'll come up with a competition for you two."

Crystal started eating her food more quickly, not wanting to fall victim to Horohoro's food snatching. She didn't really expect that he'd go after her food, but she kept her mind open to the possibility anyway. She glanced toward Taki with a sweatdrop, "Please don't give them ideas..."

"What?" said Horohoro through a mouthful of food. "You weren't eating it." He winced and rubbed his forehead. "Ow. That thing thing hurts. It should be outlawed as a weapon." He finally finished polishing off his plate and returned to the buffet for another heap of food.

Taki smiled innocently. "Now each of you gets your own bowl of soup. I shall add one scoop of Hot Pepper to each, one at a time... and he who eats the hottest soup without keeling over, breathing fire, or drinking a drink is the winner."

Ren looked up at Taki as she explained the competition, a gleam in his eyes. He smirked as he looked over to Horohoro. "Oi... you up to the challenge?" Crystal simply sweatdropped before finishing off the contents of her plate and making a beeline straight for the dessert bar. She returned with a slice of chocolate cake, a bowl of spiraled soft serve topped with carmel, sprinkles some shaved coconut, and a small plate of Jello. Taki was grinning insanely as she started filling the first pre-measured scoop with the first bit of hot powder. "Or are you afraid to lose?" Ren laughed in a gloating manner as he went off to the buffet to get a bowl of soup, returning and sitting down.

"Challenge?" Horohoro stood up determined. "Hah, you bet." He grinned at Ren, but then became distracted by the dessert table.

Taki dropped the scoop and picked up the fork she had stabbed into the table, menacing Horohoro with it. "Fight first, winner gets dessert." 

"Hmph, looks like you won't be getting any sweets." Ren was still gloating, confidence as ever that he was going to win.

"Alright, I'll beat that little Chinese, cowlicked, weasel to the ground!"

"Che. Whatever you say, baka yarou. When I've beaten you, I'll make sure to eat every last crumb of the desserts."

"Fine then, let the action commence." With that, Taki applied the first scoops to the soups.

------------------------

Horohoro smirked back at Ren across the table as the fourth round began, "I was about to ask you the same thing." He took another spoonful of soup and... "GAH!!! HOT!!! MY MOUTH IS ON FIRE!!!" He then started to run around the room screaming for a full five minutes before finally smashing into a decorative tree and crashing to the floor in a semi-conscious heap.

Crystal glanced to the collapsed Horohoro, "I don't think he's gonna be waking up any time soon."

Ren also took a spoonful of soup, raising it up... "Hmph!" he said, prior to downing the liquid. Ren crossed his arms as he swallowed, closing his eyes. For several moments, nothing happened...... .... ..... ".....Hmph." he said again, looking over at Horohoro. The sauce kicked in after a moment....right? ....Ren began to sweat....

Crystal watched Ren, "He's tough, but I don't think he realized what he was getting in to when he agreed to sample your Infamous Double Dip Jalapeno Habenero Pepperdom Death Batch."

"....Kono baka---mmph!" His eyes widened and his face turned red as the sauce kicked in, little tears springing up...being Ren, though, he took this calmly.....calmly.......C--Calmly! ..... "You! What did you--!" he growled at Taki, prior to breathing out a long stream of fire. Horohoro was too lost in unconsciousness to acknowledge his victory. Ren stood and walked hastily --but still walked-- toward the restroom to down some water from the faucet in private.

Crystal finished off an ice cream cone and looked up at the ceiling. "Well, that was different."

"Maybe we should arrange a laser tag tournament," suggested Taki. "I could team up with Hao, you could team up with Yoh, and we could make Ren and Horohoro work together."

Crystal raised an eyebrow, "Just because I like to stargaze in the same place as Yoh doesn't mean anything that you're implying... and besides, we only know that Hao likes to play Laser Tag, and that's really kinda my fault..."

"Yes, you're absolutely right. It's all your fault."

Crystal sweatdropped, laughing nervously. "I still don't think it will work."

Taki turned to Crystal again. "There's a point there. If you blab about it, it'll be ruined."

Crystal looked up at the ceiling again, closing her eyes. "I never thought you'd seriously try to play matchmaker with me and Yoh. I won't blab about it, but I do believe you should think about the kinds of time paradoxes this could result in if you go ahead with it. You're right though... the laser tag thing is entirely my fault."

Taki smiled, "Yay grandfather's paradox!" She enjoyed a randomly appearing Shirley Temple that only she could materialize out of thin air.

Crystal opened her eyes, "The question is, does Hao approve of you trying to set me up with Yoh?"

"He can read minds and I'm not dead yet. That should be an answer right there."

A good ten minutes after walking into the restroom, Ren walked back out again. His eyes were narrowed, but he was normal-faced once more, the effects of the evil hot powder having been drowned by the faucets. He instantly glared toward the table. He picked up a dessert, regardless of his not technically winning and began to eat it as he sat down at the table again.

Crystal chuckled slightly, "Part of my brain is screaming that I should be outside at the stargazing spot right now..."

Taki sweatdropped at Ren's anger level. "Uh, I was hoping that the hot powder would cause Horohoro to breath fire... I didn't expect this little turn of events, but in any case... interested in a laser tag competition next Thursday?" She looked to Crystal for help. "You might need to convince him that Laser Tag isn't actually harmful."

Crystal looked to Ren and decided to give Taki the benefit of the doubt. "I happen to know that Hao enjoys a good round of laser tag. If you team up with me, you'll have a chance to best Yoh, Hao and Horohoro."

"Crystal, that is NOT the plan we discussed!" exclaimed Taki.

Ren's eyes widened, "Hao!" He finished his cookie and slammed his hand down on the table. "I'll defeat him, and that idiot as well." He pointed at Horohoro's passed out form. "And next time, he won't win over a technicality!"

Crystal leaned back in her seat again. "There are no technicalities in laser tag." _Unless Tyriel is playing, which he won't be. _She looked to the ceiling again and finally reached her decision. "In any event... I've had it with being in the mall and I think it's time to get in some stargazing."

To Be Continued...

* * *

A Word From the Characters

Yoh: What happened to me being the main character?

Taki: It was your own doing when you decided you'd rather take a nap than tag along on our wild adventures.

Hao: Face it Yoh, Ren and Horohoro are more entertaining than you.

Horohoro: Yeah, I actually got a major role in today's story!

Ren: Just don't let it go to your head...

Crystal: As always, the insane authoress feels more inspired to write when she gets reviews, the sillier the better.

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A Word From the Authoress

The last segment in this chapter was inspired by an RP session in Yahoo Chat that I had to alter for use in the fanfic. There were several characters that needed to be editted out, because they don't exist in the timeline of this story, but the concept itself was just too good to leave out.

This story has been discontinued as a fanfic. If you would like to see the further misadventures inspired by this fanfic, take a look at my user information and visit my homepage. There you will find access to my LiveJournal Community where I have posted all the RP sessions taking place after this. I should warn you though, it gets weird.


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